Lost birds

To fill his time, recently retired Navajo detective Joe Leaphorn occasionally takes on private investigations, and in his latest adventure, he has two difficult cases: tracking down Bethany Bowlegs, whose husband is desperate to find her, and finding the birth parents of a woman who was adopted by a white family at birth but believes she's Navajo. Bernie Manuelito, wife of fellow cop Jim Chee, is dealing with an explosion at the local school, managing her alcoholic sister, and supporting her aging mother. Leaphorn's housemate, Louisa, throws up another challenge for Joe when her embittered adult son reveals he has terminal cancer and a pregnant wife, then kidnaps Louisa. The multiple plotlines are enhanced by Hillerman's (The Way of the Bear, 2023) enlightening descriptions of Navajo customs and culture and the breathtaking landscapes of the Navajo Nation; she also depicts the demands of modern policing and the challenges of family dynamics. Heartwarming, gently humorous, occasionally dark, this slice-of-life book offers another entertaining read from a gifted author.

The multilayered latest entry in Hillerman's long-running series featuring New Mexico Navajo investigators Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernadette Manuelito (after The Way of the Bear) is as vibrant as ever. PI Leaphorn is on the phone with new client Cecil Bowlegs, who's hoping to track down his errant wife, when an explosion on Bowlegs's end of the line disrupts the conversation. Tribal Police officer Manuelito is assigned to assist the FBI in their investigation of the explosion--which occurred in the a Navajo school Bowlegs was standing near--with police lieutenant Chee providing occasional support when he's not tied up with administrative headaches or helping a local weaver keep her sheep safe from feral dogs. Meanwhile, Leaphorn juggles a second case in which he helps a young woman track down her biological parents, who may be Navajo, though she was raised white. As each inquiry unfolds, Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito uncover links between them, with the truth about Bowlegs's wife a potential linchpin. Hillerman draws deeply from her characters' well-worn dynamics without getting too bogged down in past story lines, making this a treat for newcomers and long-haulers alike. It's a pleasure to spend time with Hillerman's upstanding investigative trio. (Apr.)

Legendary Lt. Joe Leaphorn returns to center stage in this tale of sabotage, disappearance, and murder among the Navajo Nation. Retired from the Navajo Nation police to work as a private eye, Leaphorn is no longer a lieutenant, but his renown makes him a natural choice for Stella Brown to consult in her search for her biological family. Adopted many years ago by Stan and Rita Brown, Stella was never able to get them to say anything about her birth parents, and now that she's 55, she thinks that connection is long overdue. Before Leaphorn has made any progress, another case intrudes when Cecil Bowlegs, the custodian at Eagle Roost school, asks him to look into the disappearance three weeks ago of his wife, singer Bethany Benally Bowlegs. Bowlegs' early morning phone call is interrupted in turn by an explosion at Eagle Roost that destroys the building housing the custodian's closet--though not, for the moment, Leaphorn's latest client, who'd stepped outside to make the call. As if to make sure Leaphorn doesn't get a moment's rest and to stir another set of troubles into the pot, Kory Bourbonette, the long-estranged son of Leaphorn's live-in, Louisa, turns up to announce that he's dying of cancer. The strongest parts of this tasting menu are those concerning the forced cultural assimilation of the "lost birds," the Indigenous children adopted by non-Native parents. But every strand of the story, which also features supporting roles for tribal officer Bernadette Manuelito and her husband, Lt. Jim Chee, is likely to hold the interest of franchise fans who aren't too fussy about how all those strands will be tied together. Continuously absorbing and sometimes piercing. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.