Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #157700 in Books
• Published on: 1990-06-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 336 pages

Review
"Hillerman's mysteries are special . . . Listening Woman is among the best." -- Washington Post

Synopsis
Native American policeman Joe Leaphorn probes the murder of an old Indian soothsayer and a young Indian girl, and ends up investigating the strange kidnapping of a group of Boy Scouts and evading a plot on his own life.

Customer Reviews

Dynamite action for Hillerman afficianados, new and old!
"Listening Woman" is typical Tony Hillerman: a thrilling adventure in Navajo country, told from a Navajo's point of view and written by one who knows the lingo. The book begins with the totally impossible and progresses to a satisfying grand finale that couldn't be topped by a hot celebration on the 4th of July!

The characters are so true to life, one is certain that some of them must surely be neighbors or their neighbors' children. The action never ceases, and the reader never stops loving Joe Leaphorn.

A great cliff hanger
Joe Leaphorn can put the loose ends together even when no one else realizes there are loose ends. The story starts out with an old man being bludgeoned and later Leaphorn is intentionally almost rundown by a mysterious man in gold rimed glasses. He tries to tie these together. Then he uses an old robbery as an excuse to get out of a Boy Scout commitment and track down the antagonist. Needles to say the story gets more convoluted for everyone but Leaphorn.
This is an excellent story with the added plus of the description of the area and the Navaho that occupies this area. What seems at first to be over description later enhances the final scenes.
Speaking about the location and Navaho, even the schools, this story is even more enjoyable if you read “Seldom Disappointed” first. Tony describes how he comes by the plot and the people. He even goes out to locations first as research.
I have read the book but the addition of the voice of George Guidall adds a dimension to the story by helping visualize the people and correcting pronunciation of certain words. I suggest you read the book and listen to the recorded version.

Unpredictable and Exciting
I find that many of the books I read are very predictable and that spoils the story. This book, however, kept me guessing. It was intriguing from the begining, with a mysterious murder, to the end, with the spoiling of a masterful criminal plot by the very likable Joe Leaphorn.