A Mystery in the Southwest

The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman
Reviewed by Sylvain Lapan

In Tony Hillerman's book The Dark Wind, a series of criminal events occur near a Hopi reservation. A man is found dead with his palms and feet skinned, a plane full of a shipment of cocaine crashes, the only store in miles is mysteriously robbed of it's most valuable things and a Hopi windmill is repeatedly vandalized. What do all of these thing have in common? Apparently nothing, but in The Dark Wind that is the question Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police is committed to answering. He is put on the job to invetigate one of these events. Then as he goes deeper into his reasearch he begins finding scary connections between all of the events. In the meanwhile, Chee's life is constantly put in danger.

The Dark Wind takes place in the southwesern United States around the states of New Mexico and Arizona. Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police is told to investigate a Hopi windmill which is repeatedly being vandalized. One day while out in the desert, Chee hears a loud noise and then sees a plane crashing. He goes out to investigate even though it is not his job and becomes a prime suspect in a drug related murder because of his curiosity.

Chee tries to wind his way out of the trouble he has gotten himself in but he just winds himself into more trouble. Chee thinks that all the events so close together are not normal for where he works and he secretly decides to start his own investigation which his boss says, "is the Fed.'s business, not yours" (P.104) and risks his job as well as his life.

While this book is exciting, it is also at times confusing. As Jim Chee drives different highways, through different deserts and reservations between differnent states we often find ourselves a little lost. Eventually however, we get back on track with the story and Chee's investigation. Chee continues trekking through the desert looking for clues and connections and finds himself caught up in something bigger than he ever expected. Overall the author does a good job of keeping us in suspense when we are not lost which makes this book exciting and interesting.

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