I really enjoy all of Hillerman's mysteries. I could tell this was an earlier one not just by the wear and tear of the book, but because his writing has changed and matured for the better in substantial ways. It's interesting how most women mystery writers tend to get worse with time, become more formulaic and can't break the mold. In Hillerman's books, I think the increasing emphasis on the culture and history of the 'four corners' area of the U.S. and the native Americans who live in that area, is as much a pull to his books as the mysteries are.

This book included a big part of the plot dealing with what are called Navajo 'wolves', which I guess does not exactly converge with European idea of witches, but rather a choice on the part of a person to choose to live out of harmony with their religious and familial beliefs. I actually wonder if we shouldn't come up with a word for that, because the idea of witches is archaic and from the Middle Ages, but many people make choices against societal mores everyday (and getting worse) and we need a new word for that.

Chee gets involved because of his own desire to become a practitioner of his tribe's religion as a shaman (though that word is wrong here also). Chee meets one of the women who have impacted his life and becomes torn about between the 'white man's world' and that of his own people. Apparently, several Indians are dying or have died from a long term illness, cancer, which under normal condition cannot be given to a person like a influeza virus. At the same time, are several unexplained shootings, all having to do with a religion that became active during my teen years having to do with eating peyote buttons (cactus) with hallucinative abilities. I knew about this in CA because in the Bay area all the hippies were trying all kinds of drugs like LSD, and marijuana, and peyote was another one we would hear about, but of course this was outside the religious use.

This book and it's plot was very interesting. Hillerman just wound up the ending really fast without explaining some things concerning the gunman hired to hurry up the deaths of the Indians, and a man who had too many fingers in too many pies...a white man who was fighting with other white men and other Indians concerning this religion and a 30-year old unsolved bombing of a oil drill. We would hear all about those too when we would go to see our grandparents in Mesa, Arizona and the unfair treatment of the Native Americans over their lands and the mineral rights of those lands.

Hillerman's later novels are more satisfying, but as with most talents, some people do get better with time and age...

Karen Sadler

Tony Hillerman gives Anglos like me who grew up near the Navajo Nation and other reservations and are curious about these cultures but have no real means of accessing them a way of learning more about them and how members interact with mainstream America in modern times. I've read 5-6 Hillerman titles, and I've enjoyed each one. But this one is an especially good one.

If you like Hillerman's books, try The Shaman Sings and others from the Charlie Moon Mystery series by James D. Doss. These books are set in the Ute reservation of southern Colorado and, to my mind, they portray the Utes and Ute culture in a way that is equally realistic and detailed and respectful to what Hillerman does for Navajos. These books celebrate Native cultures in a way that is long overdue.

In addition, there is a series of novels about a Mayan detective in the Cancun area of the Yucatan Peninsula that are a pretty good read. I tried to track down the name of the author with an Amazon search, but I had no luck. I'll add that name and a couple of titles to this review later if I can track it down.

PS I notice that Hillerman has also published several non-fiction titles. If you enjoyed this book and his other fiction, some of these may be worth checking out, as well. I plan to do so.

Lt. Joe Leaphorn was author Tony Hillerman's first detective, created for the 1970 novel THE BLESSING WAY. He was a truly original figure: a Navajo employed as a law enforcement officer on Native American lands in the Southwest and a man with both a deep respect and understanding of the ways of his people. The character Jim Chee does not differ greatly from this mold--but he does have one significant advantage. By the time Jim Chee appeared in this 1982 work, Tony Hillerman had learned how to create a tightly woven novel, something that was not always the case in the early Joe Leaphorn books.

THE PEOPLE OF DARKNESS introduces Jim Chee, a young reservation law enforcement officer who struggles to find balance between the traditional ways of the Navajo and the cultural incursions of the white man. In this particular novel, Chee is summoned by a wealthy woman to investigate a theft; the circumstances are, however, extremely unusual--and as he slowly peels through the various layers of deception Chee finds himself tracking members of a cult-like religion with ties to a tragic accident more than three decades in the past.

This is one of the better Hillerman novels. As always, the author is extremely respectful of native American tradition, and he paints a fascinating portrait of traditional beliefs and patterns of behavior. Unlike such novels as THE BLESSING WAY and LISTENING WOMAN, the plot is tightly constructed and winds back upon itself in such a way that one can honestly consider it a mystery novel--something that cannot always be said for a Hillerman work. Well written, PEOPLE OF DARKNESS is a fast and entertaining read. Recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

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"The mole, his hunting song is silence."

Sgt Jim Chee of the Navaho tribal police is asked by the wife of Benjamin J. Vines to retrieve a mysterious box stolen from her husband's safe while he was away. When mister vines returns he tells Chee that it was all a mistake and hands Chee a check. We all know Chee can not let this lay still so the mystery leads him to people that use a mole for their talisman "The people of Darkness" and it appears that something (or someone) is killing them all off.

The mystery is fair and Tony Hillerman does not hide clues or surprise suspects to the last minute so it is not too hard to guess most of the plot or who the good guys and bad guys are. We are introduced to the Navaho concept of witches and Mary Landon who will play parts (if she survives) in future novels. In the process we get a vivid description of the four corners and other areas near buy. In People of darkness he picks up a Lota Burger and I have eaten a few of them my self. In future books we will be introduced to the Navaho Taco. For the anthropologist in us he describes many sings and ways.

This is the fourth book in Tony Hillerman's masterpiece "Navajo Detectives" series and one of the best of the whole series. In the first three books Lt. Joe Leaphorn is the main character. "People of Darkness" introduces Sgt. Jim Chee, a younger and more complex man who is torn between the white man's world - and a career in the FBI - and the Navajo way as a "singer" or shaman. Also introduced in this book is an appealing, peaches-and-cream Wisconsin girl, Mary Landon, as a mild love interest for Chee.

A bomb goes off in a hospital parking lot, apparently aimed at killing a man who is already dying of cancer, a box containing little of apparent value disappears from a rich man's house, and an oil well explosion thirty years back has some connection to these events. This is vintage Hillerman: a story than ranges over vast areas of time and space. The villain in "People of Darkness" is one of Hillerman's best: a cold professional with the vulnerability of a battered child.

Hillerman's strengths are authenticity and atmosphere. Elements of Navajo culture, religion, and folkways are woven into the fabric of his novels. His landscapes are harsh and spectacular. Nature is magnificent, but also menacing. In this exotic setting, the supernatural seems almost possible and little chilly fingers tickle your spine. If you are an urbanite, you may not like Hillerman; but if you are drawn to big, blank spots on the map you will likely love him. Not the least of his accomplishments is that he has probably taught more people about the Navajo -- and generated more interest in Navajo culture -- than any other writer.