Discussion: Native American mysteries • I love mysteries! • BookLikes

#1 by: The Butler Did It date: 11 years ago discussions stats

My library book group is going to be doing Native American mysteries starting in February. Who would you recommend for that category besides Tony Hillerman?

#2 by: Themis-Athena's Garden of Books date: 11 years ago discussions stats

Have you read anything by James D. Doss? (Essentially the same territory as Hillerman and not quite as good, but very enjoyable as well.)

Also Sherman Alexie's "Indian Killer" -- not strictly a mystery, but definitely a "crime" novel, and in terms of POV you can hardly go any more authentic ...

#3 by: The Butler Did It date: 11 years ago discussions stats

I haven't tried those. Thanks for the suggestions!

#4 by: Themis-Athena's Garden of Books date: 11 years ago discussions stats

You're welcome. I'll be interested to hear how you like them!

#5 by: Meandering Em's date: 11 years ago discussions stats

Has anyone read books by Jean Hager? She has a series with Molly Bearpaw that takes place in the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. I picked up a used book at a book sale. I have been to Tahlequah, OK and I like Hillerman's books, so I decided to give it a try.

#6 by: The Butler Did It date: 11 years ago discussions stats

I'll have to look for these because I grew up in Oklahoma. Thanks for the recommendation!

#7 by: The Butler Did It date: 11 years ago discussions stats

The first book my library chose for this series was "Dance for the Dead" by Thomas Perry. It features Jane, a member of the Seneca tribe. My review is here. This was not what I was expecting as a Native American mystery.

#8 by: Lyssa's novel ideas date: 11 years ago discussions stats

There is also the series by Aimee and David Thurlo about Navajo FBI agent Ella Clah. The first one is Blackening Song. I have some of these on my TBR list, haven't read any yet. It looks like there are about 17 in the series.

#9 by: The Butler Did It date: 11 years ago discussions stats

It seems as if Native American mysteries is a bigger sub-genre than I thought!

#10 by: The Butler Did It date: 11 years ago discussions stats

My library book club tonight was on Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman. There was complete agreement that this is a great book. I was surprised at how universal the appeal is because this group has had widely divergent opinions on books in the past. I

#11 by: Themis-Athena's Garden of Books date: 11 years ago discussions stats

Reply to post #10 (show post):

I'd agree as well -- IMHO it's one of the strongest entries in his Navajo series!

#12 by: The Butler Did It date: 11 years ago discussions stats

Tonight at my library discussion group we covered "The Shaman Sings" by James D. Doss which was recommended earlier in this discussion. This was his first novel and I think it shows even if I did enjoy the story. There were way too many threads going on, some ended up quite rushed and characters were not used as effectively as I thought they could have been. I can tell that the author is quite talented and will read more of his series but this debut novel definitely had some flaws.