The Sinister Pig: Summary and book reviews of The Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman, plus links to an excerpt from The Sinister Pig and a biography of Tony Hillerman.

The victim, well dressed but stripped of identification, is found at the edge of the vast Jicarilla Apache natural gas field just inside the jurisdiction of the Navajo Tribal Police, facing Sergeant Jim Chee with a complex puzzle. Why did the Washington office of the FBI snatch custody of this case from its local agents, cover it with secrecy, and call it a hunting accident? What was the victim seeking among the maze of pipelines and pumping stations in America's largest gas field? Was he investigating the embezzlement of billions of dollars from the Indian Tribal royalty trust in the Department of the Interior? On a level nearer to Chee's heart, did the photographs Bernie Manuelito took on an exotic game ranch near the Mexican border reveal something connected with this crime? Did Bernie, once a member of Chee's squad but now a rookie Border Patrol Officer, put herself in terrible danger? Tony Hillerman leads his readers through another of his intricate plots to the solution of this crime, with a cast of vivid characters: a Washington political mogul and his more-or-less renegade pilot; a customs official who bends the rules; a Mexican smuggler with a conscience; and, finally, "Legendary Lieutenant" Joe Leaphorn, now retired, who connects the lines on a dusty old map to find the answers -- and the Sinister Pig -- among the great scimitar-horned oryx grazing on the historic Tuttle Ranch.

Media Reviews

The New York Times - Marilyn Stasio Hillerman orchestrates the chaos brilliantly ... an extraordinary display of sheer plotting craftsmanship.   Kirkus Reviews Hillerman Lite, with little mystery about who killed Carl Mankin.   Publishers Weekly With his usual up-front approach to issues concerning Native Americans ... Hillerman delivers a masterful tale that both entertains and educates.

Recent Reader Reviews

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