Book Review: Shooting Chant

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Shooting Chant     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Aimee Thurlo , David Thurlo
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Ethnic   Government Agency   Police Procedural   Woman Main Character
Series: Ella Clah # 5
Forge, Apr 2000, $23.95, 352 pp.

Former FBI agent Ella Clah works as a special investigator on the Navaho Indian Reservation, New Mexico. Ella’s world turns upside down when she learns she is pregnant from a man she cares for but has no intention of marrying. At the same time Ella struggles with her personal dilemma, the reservation becomes a battleground between the traditionalists and the progressives. Someone is slaughtering animals raised using modern Anglo methods. The evidence points towards the traditionalists committing the animal killings, which increases the animosity and the schism between the two groups.

An Anglo owned business that leases reservation land becomes the scene of a murder that appears to be the work of an angry traditionalist or two. Professionals break into the medical clinic and steal the records of pregnant women. Ella investigates all the happenings leading to her becoming a target. She uses her Anglo training and her Native American mystical intuition to uncover the identity of the killer.

Readers who enjoy Tony Hillerman’s mysteries will relish the enthralling SHOOTING CHANT. Aimee and David Thurlo show their writing talents as they provide a close look at the efforts of Native American traditionalists to preserve the culture in the modern world. The numerous subplots cleverly tie together with Ella’s pregnancy adding a special touch that humanizes the intrepid law enforcement official. The audience will look forward to future tales while first time readers will search for the previous novels.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner