Hunting Badger: Summary and book reviews of Hunting Badger by Tony Hillerman, plus links to an excerpt from Hunting Badger and a biography of Tony Hillerman.

Navajo crimebusters Leaphom and Chee are back together on a case, and at odds with the FBI over a backcountry manhunt in this latest thrilling addition to Tony Hillerman's best-selling series. In 1998 three heavily armed "survivalists" came out of the Four Corners canyons in a stolen truck. They murdered a policeman, had a shootout with pursuers, and then vanished--eluding a manhunt that eventually involved hundreds of officers from more than twenty federal and state agencies. The crime and the bungled FBI investigation left behind a web of mysteries: Why did one of the bandits kill himself? How did the others escape? Why has no one in this impoverished area claimed the huge reward the government still offers? Most puzzling of all, what crime were they en route to commit when Officer Dale Claxton stopped them--and paid for his bravery with his life? Tony Hillerman assigns these real puzzles to his fictional Navajo Tribal Police officers--Sergeant Jim Chee and retired Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn. The time is now, and the memory of the mishandled manhunt of 1998 is still painfully fresh. Three men stage a predawn raid on the Ute tribe's gambling casino. They kill one policeman, wound another, and disappear in the maze of canyons on the Utah-Arizona border. The FBI takes over the investigation, and agents swarm in with their helicopters, their high-tech equipment, and a theory of the crime that makes a wounded deputy sheriff a suspect. This development calls Chee in from his vacation, and a request for a favor draws in Leaphorn. Chee finds a fatal flaw in the federal theory, and Leaphorn sees an intriguing pattern connecting this crime with the exploits of a legendary Ute hero-bandit. Tightly plotted and beautifully written, Hunting Badger proves once again that Tony Hillerman is a master storyteller.

Media Reviews

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine The killing of law officers at an Indian casino precipitates a massive search, once again putting the Navajo Tribal Police in uneasy collaboration with the F.B.I. and other agencies. In an opening note, Hillerman reveals that a real 1998 manhunt inspired his fiction. The series about Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee has subtly changed in recent entries: There's more humor ; Jim Chee is far more talkative; and the whole enterprise is mellower and more relaxed. The Leaphorn-Chee relationship occasionally recalls Charlie Chan and number-one-son.   Washington Post Book World Hillerman continues to dazzle...A standout.   Library Journal Inspired by an actual 1998 manhunt on the Utah-Arizona border in which the FBI bungled the search for the killers of a police officer, Hillerman's (The First Eagle) latest mystery opens with the robbery of the Ute casino. What made Hillerman's early novels so compelling was the unique blend of Navajo lore, evocative Southwestern landscape, and intriguing mysteries. Unfortunately, in his later books the formula has grown stale; Hunting Badger offers a paint-by-the-numbers plot with cardboard villains. Still, diehard fans will want this.   Publishers Weekly As usual in recent Hillerman books, the action goes on mostly inside the minds of his two lead characters. But there is one splendid helicopter ride into Gothic Creek Canyon that should speed up the calmest heart, several new insights into the mysteries of Navajo culture and a story with enough twists and surprises to make readers glad they checked in.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by jon bull
postscript
Readers of this book will be interested to learn that the last of the desparados mentioned in the book was discovered this week in a canyon in southeast utah, dead, of course, with his pack, bed roll and AK-47 by his side. Chapter closed.

Rated of 5 by Abby Downing
This book was assigned to me for a project.
I had a wonderful time reading it.
And suggest it to anyone.
Enjoy

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