The way of the bear /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Winner of the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award for Best Mystery

Fossil harvesting, ancient lore, greed, rejected love and murder combine in this gripping new installment of New York Times bestselling author Anne Hillerman's Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito series.

An unexpected death on a lonely road outside of Utah's Bears Ears National Monument raises questions for Navajo Tribal Police officers Jim Chee and Bernadette Manuelito. Why would a seasoned outdoorsman and well-known paleontologist freeze to death within walking distance of his car A second death brings more turmoil. Who is the unidentified man killed during a home invasion where nothing much seems to have been taken Why was he murdered

The Bears Ears area, at the edge of the Navajo Nation, is celebrated for its abundance of early human habitation sites and the discovery of unique fossils which revolutionized the scientific view of how early animals dealt with their changing world. Chee and Manuelito appreciate the area's scenery and wealth of human and scientific resources, but their visit to this achingly beautiful place is disrupted by a current of unprecedented violence that sweeps them both into danger. Illicit romance, a fossilized jawbone, hints of witchcraft, and a mysterious disappearance during a blizzard add to the peril.

It takes all of Manuelito's and Chee's experience, skill, and intuition to navigate the threats that arise and see justice served.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Bestseller Hillerman's pleasing eighth Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito mystery (after 2022's The Sacred Bridge) takes Navaho police officer Bernadette "Bernie" Manuelito and her policeman husband, Lt. Jim Chee, to Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. Chee is there to meet with Chapman Dulles, a scientist who has decided to donate to the Navajo Nation's Fallen Officers Memorial Fund. Bernie has taken time off from work and joined Chee to contemplate her future after being passed over for a promotion to detective. While hiking on a cold winter's day, she comes across what looks at first glance to be an archaeological dig. Bernie begins to suspect that the excavation may really be connected with the robbing of grave sites or the illegal collection of fossils. Her suspicions seem to be confirmed when she's chased and shot at. Meanwhile, Chee shows up at Dulles's home to find an unidentified dead man sprawled on the driveway. Dulles is nowhere to be found. An intriguing plot matches the well-developed, reflective leads. As always, the real strength of this series lies in its authentic atmosphere, evocative descriptions of the landscape, and fascinating details of Navajo life. Hillerman consistently satisfies. (Apr.)

Kirkus Book Review

Bears Ears, the on-again, off-again national park that's been the subject of so much political turmoil in recent years, becomes the site of more personal and dangerous conflicts. Still smarting from the rejection of her application for promotion to detective, Navajo police officer Bernadette Manuelito has accompanied her husband, Lt. Jim Chee, to Utah, where he plans to meet with Hosteen Desmond Grayhair and help persuade interested scientist Chapman Dulles to make a sizable donation to the Navajo Nation's Fallen Officers Memorial Fund. On a solitary evening walk in the Valley of the Gods, Bernie is targeted by a truck that nearly runs her down shortly after she discovers that some of the valley's ancient petroglyphs have been defaced. On top of all this, she's called on to deliver the baby of Hannah Black, whose husband, Roper, has just tendered his resignation as Dulles' security chief. Since Chee's buddy Officer Ajax Becenti is away from his desk at the Bureau of Land Management, Bernie reports the damaged petroglyphs to Becenti's partner, Ranger Cassidy Kingsley, a California import who seems indifferent. The tale picks up steam with the discovery of missing paleontologist Kyle Johnson's body and the disappearance of Dulles, who leaves an unidentified corpse behind on his front porch. Hillerman ends up identifying a surprising number of suspects as perpetrators of diverse crimes and misdemeanors. But it's clear from early on that the crux of them all is Mary, the fossilized skull that Dulles had found and made a beloved companion. A so-so mystery that raises probing questions about the fates of fossils found on public lands sacred to many. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Anne Hillerman, daughter of author Tony Hillerman, is a journalist and author. In more than twenty years as a journalist, she worked as editorial page editor for the Albuquerque Journal North and the Santa Fe New Mexican, and as an arts editor for both papers. Since 2001, she has been the Northern New Mexico food critic for the Albuquerque Journal.

Her first book, Children's Guide to Santa Fe, was published in 1983. Her other nonfiction books include The Insiders' Guide to Santa Fe, Gardens of Santa Fe, Done in the Sun, Ride the Wind: U.S.A. to Africa, and Tony Hillerman's Landscape: On the Road with Chee and Leaphorn. Santa Fe Flavors: Best Restaurants and Recipes won the New Mexico Book Award for Best Cookbook of 2009. Her debut novel, Spider Woman's Daughter: A Leaphorn and Chee Novel, was published in 2013. Her title's Rock with Wings and Song of the Lion made The New York Times Best Seller List.

(Bowker Author Biography)