This mystery is the second one published by Hillerman, after his first mystery set in Navajo country, The Blessing Way.In the Fly on the Wall, John Cotton is a statehouse reporter and has just filed his story when a colleague comes into the pressroom. Merrill McDaniels, known as Mac, comes into file his story, but he’s a little drunk and Cotton offers to file something for him and tell his editor he went home sick. Cotton tries to get him on home but Mac says he’s celebrating breaking the story of a lifetime. Cotton doesn’t really believe him, but Mac heads on home. A few minutes later a man enters and rummages through Mac’s desk looking for his notebook, telling Cotton that Mac forgot it and sent his friend for it. A few minutes later Mac is found dead.So begins Cotton’s at first desultory investigation into the big story Mac was working on. He finds Mac’s notebook, traces back the other man’s investigation, and wonders what Mac could have been excited about. When another reporter is killed driving Cotton’s car, Cotton at first thinks only it was an accident. He keeps digging, looking for the story while the other reporters are covering Governor Roark’s political future, Senator Clark’s plans, and small struggles over legislation. Then Cotton begins to have enough pieces to put together into a small puzzle, and he gets another warning, this one unmistakable in its meaning.This is a masterfully plotted and steadily paced mystery that brings forward all the details of a major scam, how the players hide themselves and their cronies, and how easy it is to fool the tax payer, the reporters, and other politicians. Hillerman offers one surprise after another, and even the last two pages brings a stunning reversal. Hillerman was a journalist for many years, and his skill and experience show on every page.
Tony Hillerman's "The Fly on the Wall" is not one of his "Leaphorn & Chee" novels. It's a mystery set in nameless non-Western state capital. Unfortunately, it's not a very good book. First of all, the story is all about politics. That's a big turn-off for me, but for others, it might be fine. Next, the protagonist doesn't seem to have enough neurons to rub against each other to create a spark. Much of the plot consists of him entirely ignoring blatantly obvious signals that something's going on, talking to people he shouldn't, and not talking to people he should. Now, even with that, the plot is a bit interesting. So, I might have been able to give the book a neutral rating if those were the only things I had problems with. But, the ending of the book is so bad that I had to drop it another star. Unless I'm misinterpreting Hillerman's ending, it seems like he's saying that politics excuses corruption and murder. Perhaps he's being facetious or ironic and I'm missing it. But, with how the protagonist acts at the end, I can only rate the book at a Not Very Good 2 stars out of 5.
What do You think about The Fly On The Wall (1990)?
A non-series novel from Tony Hillerman, Southwest author best known for his Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, Navajo policemen series. Although Hillerman is identified with the American Southwest, this political thriller takes place in a snowy, unnamed, Midwestern state capitol. Political corruption and murder have the ability to fuel an absorbing story but this one, while entertaining, misses being riveting. My opinion is not universal, the book was a Finalist 1972 Edgar Award for Best Mystery; and, named to Ninety Classics of Crime Fiction 1900-1975, ed. Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor.Non-series - Ace reporter John Cotton is a fly on the wall -- seeing all, hearing all, and keeping out of sight. But the game changes when he finds a fellow reporter's corpse sprawled on the marble floor of the central rotunda of the State Capitol. The shocking pages of the dead reporter's notebook tell of a scandal involving a senatorial candidate, a million-dollar scam, and a murder. And he hears the pursuing footsteps of powerful people who have something to hide ... and a willingness to kill to keep their secrets hidden.
—Ed
This is not one of the Navajo novels...it is a political story with lots of the 'dirty politics' that make my head spin. The protagonist is a newspaper reporter on the 'capitol beat' in his state; he gets involved after the suspicious death (attributed to suicide) of a co-worker. Someone is looking for the dead man's reporter's notebook. Why? Even with the notebook, there are many questions to be answered. I found the story to be a little long and drawn out, and the details of the corruption were hard for me to keep track of (and by today's standards, they seemed very minor!). I much prefer Hillerman's other mysteries, but he was obviously well-versed in the underbelly of the political process.
—Mary
My father-in-law was a fan of Hillerman's. When he died over a decade ago, I read several of the books he had & remembered liking them, but not being wowed. I have to say that this one surprised me. Hillerman handled some very tough themes about reporting, truth, & integrity. Right & wrong blurred the deeper the reporter dug & the ending was full of wonderful surprises. There was a realistic quality throughout, too. The hero isn't particularly brave, smart, nor perfect in any way. He's a good man that does his best under some trying circumstances & does pretty well, though.The reading was well done, too. I'm definitely going to look for more by this author in this format.
—Jim
