Navajo Tribal Police Sergeant Jim Chee is asked by Rosemary Vines, the wife of B.J. Vines, one of the richest men in New Mexico, to find a box of her husband's keepsakes that has been stolen. Chee doesn't know if he will take the job, but his curiosity is further piqued when the local Sheriff, a man who shares a bitter and tragic history with Vines, tells Chee to leave the matter alone. Then Vines calls upon Chee and tells him to forget the whole thing, the contents of the keepsake box were not all that important. Just a few papers, photos, and some rocks of limited sentimental value. Nothing worth the effort of looking for.Certain that something rotten is going on, or has gone on, or both, Chee begins searching for the keepsake box and the answers to the mystery that it holds. His efforts not only uncover a rat's nest of clues, but also places him at the top of an assassin's kill list.It has been years since I last cracked open a Tony Hillerman mystery. My previous experience with Hillerman's Native American mysteries had been Coyote Waits and my memory is of setting it down feeling unimpressed and disappointed. I did not have the same reaction to People of Darkness, I put this book down eager to pick up the next Jim Chee novel in the series (this was the first) as soon as I could get it. My only regret now is that I was not faster at giving Hillerman a second chance.Chee's struggle with his cultural balancing act - an unresolved subplot has him facing a decision on whether or not he wants to become a Navajo Singing Man and stay on the reservation or leave the reservation and attend the FBI Academy - gives both his character and his investigation a unique perspective. He doesn't quite understand the white man's traditions or his social structure, so his observations and overall approach to an investigation is that of an outsider. An outsider that is refreshingly different from the usual burned out outsider cops and/or private detectives that play by their own rules. The rules Chee lives by are those of his people, not of some self-serving personal code of malleable "honor." But Chee is also colored by his education, constant interaction, and experience in the world outside of the reservation. While Chee struggles to keep in touch with his people and their traditions (i.e. the Singing Man/FBI Academy dilemma he faces) he finds himself drifting away from them far too easily, for his curiosity about the white man's ways is very strong. So is his interest in a certain white woman.It is that strong curiosity that gets Chee into so much trouble during his first adventure. Hillerman crafts a compelling mystery for his character to navigate, one that is rooted in Native American culture and history, but laced with white man's greed. He artfully mixes together the legitimate clues with the red herrings, creating a confusing tangle that is all the harder for Chee to untie because of the accomplished and very determined hit man that is chasing after him. But untie them he does, managing to bring all the clues (and suspects) together for a truly satisfying conclusion.
If you get my news feed, you can see I've been gobbling up Tony Hillerman this summer, and this title is a standout, although limited to the younger Navajo detective of Hillerman's pair of beloved sleuths. Hillerman's writing is so subtle and pervasive, a good writer shows character rather than tells it, and Hillerman expresses it with scent, sound and touch--blank space in the form of wind, the reservation badlands, the politeness of a people who let the space linger to be certain to listen well. The books teach Navaho culture pervasively, but without being campy, lecture-ridden, or cliched. Instead, the culture moves the plot, the investigation, the motivation of the characters, the questions that are asked, the questions that are not asked. Slowly, a world view is painted that reveals secrets hidden from the foreign culture of the non-dinee, and mysteries are solved that evade white culture. Interwoven in the traditional culture and beliefs are motives of modern-world greed, political intrigue, bureaucratic and government institutions, multiple and competing jurisdictions, and sorting out the threads of the competing cultural influences is the great pleasure that Hillerman gives his readers.As a white reader aware of modern political discussions around white privilege, the conservative ruling class asks "why should I care?" Though Hillerman passed away before questions were posed in this fashion, his novels subtly but forcefully show that diversity in culture and ethnicity gives the person inherent value and strengths of perspective and outcome that are unattainable from a homogeneous ruling class. Detectives Leaphorn and Chee, by being themselves, solve problems and solve crimes in ways that are unfathomable to the elite white male FBI and state law enforcement.
What do You think about People Of Darkness (1991)?
Members of a Peyote cult are being murdered. Chee asked by a rich man's wife to find a missing box. A local sheriff warns Chee to stay out of it. A hired killer stalks his prey... Definitely one of Hillerman's best works. The author weaves his tale with threads of Navajo culture, terrain, weather, and people, all told as an expert craftsman. The muder mystery was unveiled slowly, but in truth, I didn't figure it out until Chee reveals it. This had a lot of action, intrigue, and a bonus of introducing and having us get to know Chee's first love interest. The was one typo, however, referring to leaphorn as "Captain." Still this was not enough of an issue to change my mind in this 5 star review. This was, chronological, Hillerman's fourth installment of his Chee/Leaphorn series, when he had written enough of them to catch his stride, and when he was young enough to write his very best works.
—Morris Graham
Love Hillerman's Navajo Mysteries. They are very consistent and evoke a place and a people which many of the best mystery series do. This one introduced Jim Chee as the primary detective. He is smart and observant like Leaphorn before him. This novel also followed the antagonist across several chapters which reminded me of several novels that switch perspective between the two forces that are heading for a collision. Forsyth's Day of the Jackal is my most vivid use of this style, but it's incredibly common now and when done well, I love the effect. I'm much more into the procedural of the crime novel than the whodunit aspect. I like a good mystery, but I love a great good guy/bad guy story. Usually I like a little more gray in both my protagonist and my antagonist, but I find Hillerman's detectives reflect the Navajo style he uses so effectively and so I give him a pass on that one. The ability of his heroes to slow down and not react rashly to the situations that arise is what makes them so compelling and likable. If you like Hillerman, you'll like this one too. He's very reliable that way.
—Mark Deegan
Struggled between 2 and 3 stars. I enjoyed the read, though it was just brief (more short story than novel). The main character was a police officer on the cusp of deciding whether to rejoin his family and traditional living or continue in the white man's world as an FBI agent. Queue the local mystery. The woman introduced to be his friend/love interest was terribly 2-dimensional - hated her. HOWEVER, I did find the actual mystery to be a satisfying one. And I appreciated that it was because a diverse thought process/tradition was leveraged/considered that the mystery was solved. I cannot vouch for the authentic portrayal of the Navajo people in the story because I know so little about their traditions and history, but there was the appearance of respect without obvious/undue romanticism.It came from a little free library and it will return to one. Hopefully the next reader will also find it an enjoyable mystery.
—Thomasin
