Sacred Clowns

In this 12th reservation mystery Tony Hillerman combines a fast-paced plot and familiar characters with evocative depictions of Indian myth and culture. The result is seamless, sensuous storytelling.

Although they have been thrown together before, officer Jim Chee really knows very little about his new boss, Joe Leaphorn. And Chee is maverick enough to think he doesn’t really need him anyway. Leaphorn could be a real heavyweight, yammering on and on about details, punching stick pins into the enlarged map behind his desk as if they actually meant something. And now the guy has him on a truancy case, hunting down a missing teenaged boy named Delmar Kanitewa—not exactly Chee’s idea of a promising investigation.

When he finally spots Kanitewa on the night of a Tanoan Kachina ceremony, Chee thinks he can move on to bigger and better things. But distracted by the antics of a koshare—a sacred clown—Chee loses the elusive truant in the crowd and, minutes later, discovers the body of the koshare in a pool of blood.

As the search for Kanitewa continues, the added complications of a hit-and-run accident and the murder of a reservation teacher keep both wary partners up nights while they struggle with private troubles of their own.