Sacred Clowns (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Novels) 
asked by dannyboy on November 4, 2006 10:36 PM
During a kachina ceremony at the Tano pueblo, the antics of a dancing koshare fill the air with tension. Moments later, the clown is found bludgeoned to death, in the same manner a reservation schoolteacher was killed only days before.
Officer Jim Chee and Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn believe that answers lie in the sacred clown's final cryptic message to the Tano people. But to decipher it, the two Navajo policemen may have to delve into closely guarded tribal secrets -- on a sinister trail of blood that links a runaway, a holy artifact, corrupt Indian traders, and a pair of dead bodies.
Reviews
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I see there is a lot of mixed reviews given for this particular mystery of Hillerman's. Sometimes I buy or pick up his books and I am not sure if I am picking up one I've read before. If I read this one, it was a long time ago...and even if it was a repeat, I enjoyed it.
Hillerman has spent his life in the Four Corners area of the U.S. coming to know the various tribes that have lived there. I think I read his books as much for the background, history, religious knowledge, etc. that Hillerman gives his readers on the Navajos, Hopis, and many other tribes I am not familiar with, though I know about the Pueblo Indians from American History.
The two main characters of his books, Leaphorn and Chee, are both smart men who love their people and the land they live in, and want to see the right thing done no matter what. In this book Hillerman brings up one of worse things that we white people ever did, which was introduce the Native Americans to hard liquor (as a means to control them and get their properties without paying what they were worth). I know it continues to be an ongoing problem since I work within the deaf community and there are a lot of Native Americans born with hearing loss...some from genetics, some from fetal alcohol syndrome, which forms the basis eventually for this book.
I like the way these men handle their lives and their jobs, and wish that more men in all cultures were as honorable and lived by higher moral standards as pertains to how we treat each other.
I found the concept of the use of clowns in this society as a means to point out what the 'people' were doing wrong, in this case, selling their sacred belongings. I thought I knew a lot about Lincoln, but I had no idea he sent these beautiful canes out to the chiefs of these clans recognizing their place in their society. From what Hillerman says it was to keep the Indians from entering the Civil War on either side. I'd like to read more about this.
Karen Sadler
Hillerman has spent his life in the Four Corners area of the U.S. coming to know the various tribes that have lived there. I think I read his books as much for the background, history, religious knowledge, etc. that Hillerman gives his readers on the Navajos, Hopis, and many other tribes I am not familiar with, though I know about the Pueblo Indians from American History.
The two main characters of his books, Leaphorn and Chee, are both smart men who love their people and the land they live in, and want to see the right thing done no matter what. In this book Hillerman brings up one of worse things that we white people ever did, which was introduce the Native Americans to hard liquor (as a means to control them and get their properties without paying what they were worth). I know it continues to be an ongoing problem since I work within the deaf community and there are a lot of Native Americans born with hearing loss...some from genetics, some from fetal alcohol syndrome, which forms the basis eventually for this book.
I like the way these men handle their lives and their jobs, and wish that more men in all cultures were as honorable and lived by higher moral standards as pertains to how we treat each other.
I found the concept of the use of clowns in this society as a means to point out what the 'people' were doing wrong, in this case, selling their sacred belongings. I thought I knew a lot about Lincoln, but I had no idea he sent these beautiful canes out to the chiefs of these clans recognizing their place in their society. From what Hillerman says it was to keep the Indians from entering the Civil War on either side. I'd like to read more about this.
Karen Sadler
reviewed by scoobie on November 20, 2006 7:52 PM
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Tony Hillerman is a wonderful author. A Scared Clown is a very outstanding mystery book.
In little town, Shiprock, Officer Chee and Detective Leaphorn discover a human skeleton. Whoever that was, was brutally murdered and it is up to them to crack the mystery. The characters in this book are described where you can just picture what they look like and what everything else looks like. The author, Mr. Hillerman, did a good job with imagery. It felt as if I were there with them trying to solve the mystery. The author kept me interested with his diction. I couldn't stop reading the book, I just kept going.
I recommend people to read this book if they are into mystery books, because I know they will feel the same way I did when I opened the book and when I closed the book.
In little town, Shiprock, Officer Chee and Detective Leaphorn discover a human skeleton. Whoever that was, was brutally murdered and it is up to them to crack the mystery. The characters in this book are described where you can just picture what they look like and what everything else looks like. The author, Mr. Hillerman, did a good job with imagery. It felt as if I were there with them trying to solve the mystery. The author kept me interested with his diction. I couldn't stop reading the book, I just kept going.
I recommend people to read this book if they are into mystery books, because I know they will feel the same way I did when I opened the book and when I closed the book.
reviewed by megafan on November 24, 2006 4:38 PM