Not his best, but still worth the read

books:


	• The Shape Shifter Tony Hillerman HarperCollins, 2006 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 111 reviews view larger image
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Among his best!

I am a long time Hillerman fan, and expected not to like this book based on the recent reviews. Thank goodness I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked it very much, and even thought it was among his best! I agree with others that the structure of the plot, with a flashback being the main story, doesn't seem to work too well. I found myself forgetting that it was a flashback as the story progressed, though. I thought the plot was better than some of his other books, that followed a predictable formula of Leaphorn and Chee pursuing separate strands and alternating chapters of Leaphorn's actions, Chee's actions, Leaphorn's actions, Chee's... etc., until the final chapters tied it together. This plot is solely Leaphorn's story, and the plot unfolds directly. Less artifice, more enjoyable. I also liked Leaphorn's growing awareness of his aging. Subtle little touches, like having difficulty getting up from a sitting position, and having occasional "why am I doing this when I am supposedly retired?" thoughts. I was quite surprised by the ending, and wondered if an ex-policeman would really wrap things up the way he did, but Leaphorn is not a conventional person and perhaps he would. All in all, I found it a very satisfying read. I am dismayed that others did not. I think some of the criticism is very nit-picky. After all, this is fiction, and requires "a willing suspension of disbelief."

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Not his best, but still worth the read

Gentle explorations into Navajo culture coexist with criminal brutality and meditations on retirement in this odd, but still satisfying, Hillerman novel. The story follows the multiple identities of a murderer, the shape shifter of the title, studied persistently by retired Joe Leaphorn, formerly of the Navajo Tribal Police. Subplots involving history as told in woven rugs, the homesickness of a young Hmong man employed by the murderer, and similarities in creation stories from several cultures add dimension and depth. Oddly, the most interesting ruminations of our hero may be those on the difficulties and disappointments of retirement, something newly experienced by the huge boomer population in the US, Navajo and otherwise.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Since his retirement from the Navajo Tribal Police, Joe Leaphorn has occasionally been enticed to return to work by former colleagues who seek his help when they need to solve a particularly puzzling crime. They ask because Leaphorn, aided by officers Jim Chee and Bernie Manuelito, always delivers.

But this time the problem is with an old case of Joe's?his "last case," unsolved, is one that continues to haunt him. And with Chee and Bernie just back from their honeymoon, Leaphorn is pretty much on his own.

The original case involved a priceless, one-of-a-kind Navajo rug supposedly destroyed in a fire. Suddenly, what looks like the same rug turns up in a magazine spread. And the man who brings the photo to Leaphorn's attention has gone missing. Leaphorn must pick up the threads of a crime he'd thought impossible to untangle. Not only has the passage of time obscured the details, but it also appears that there's a murderer still on the loose.

New York Times bestselling author Tony Hillerman is at the top of his form in this atmospheric and riveting novel set amid the rugged beauty of his beloved Southwest.

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