The Sacred Bridge by Anne Hillerman

This book features vengeance as motive and justice, which being a cop story, is expected. Anne Hillerman continues her father Tony’s series with Jim Chee. There are a few mentions of Joe Leaphorn, but no appearance. Instead, the author focuses on Bernie Manuelito, now Jim Chee’s wife.

Two stories run in parallel. One is Jim Chee, who is on vacation and discovers a body in Lake Powell. He works with the local police to solve the crime, which at first looks like an accident. There are a number of suspects. However, I pegged the killer early on. That didn’t take away from the story. Hillerman’s descriptions of Navajo people and life are fascinating and one of the reasons I bought the book.

The second story is Officer Bernie Manuelito going undercover at a hemp plant. The precipitating event is that she witnesses a man intentionally run over by a black Mercedes that later the police determine was owned by the hemp plant. This company, I believe, is a metaphor for of all the entities that have taken advantage of and lied to the Navajo people. The more Bernie finds out the clearer it becomes that this company was not what it was represented to be.

Chee’s story spends a lot of time on the desecration of indigenous peoples’ heritage by the building of the dam that formed Lake Powell. Chee works with an aging archeologist to try and find a cave that his former co-worker Joe Leaphorn had experienced in a case many years ago that contained many ancient artifacts. Through this interaction the reader is enlightened about the ancient indigenous people.

The book is well-written. It moves quickly. Half the story is a mystery. The other half is suspense with Bernie and her undercover gig. Again, I appreciated both the modern and ancient cultural descriptions. Hillerman also layers in good environmental descriptions giving the reader a feel for the land that Chee has visited.

This is a clean novel. No profanity, no on page sex, and no gratuitous violence. Anne Hillerman has kept alive the characters created by her late father. I’ll rank this one eleventh, just behind her father’s book. This keeps my record strong with another good read.

1. The Record Keeper by Charles Martin
2. The Samaritan’s Patient by Chevron Ross
3. Days Coming by Pat Simmons
4. The Runaway Jury by John Grisham
5. The Maid by Nita Prose
6. Where is My Sister by Jane Daly
7. Braving Strange Waters by Sarah Hanks
8. Another Ending by Sara Whitely
9. Blood Red Deceit by Steve Rush
10. The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman
11. The Sacred Bridge by Anne Hillerman
12. Black Cherry Blues by James Lee Burke
13. A Vanishing Act by Edwina Kiernan
14. Cali’s Hope by John Matthew Walker
15. Field Training by Patrick O’Donnell
16. Deadly Pursuit by Elle Gray
17. American Prophet by Jeff Fullmer

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