Plant Them Deep

by Aimée Thurlo, David Thurlo

Medicine men and members of the Plant Watchers society report that sacred healing plants are disappearing from the Rez. In an effort to locate and protect the rare plants, the tribal council asks Rose for help. She faces strong opposition both from healers reluctant to reveal their secret herb-gathering spots and from people who think the Rez should be cultivated with genetically-engineered plants instead of native species.
Rose is shocked to discover that many plants appear to have been stolen, perhaps for the lucrative market for alternative and natural medications. Soon after her notes and maps are stolen, a Navajo man is found dead near a gathering site. Rose is convinced that he was murdered by the plant thief.

Rose has picked up a trick or two from Ella Clah, her police officer daughter; she begins an independent investigation that soon has her up to her neck in trouble.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Native American

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

About the author

Aimee and David Thurlo are the authors of the Ella Clah mysteries, the Sister Agatha mysteries, the Lee Nez vampire novels all set in New Mexico. David grew up on the Navajo Indian Nation, and Aimee, a native of Cuba, lived in the southwest for forty years.

Aimée passed away peacefully at her home on the morning of February 28, 2014, after a brief struggle with cancer and related complications. She was attended by her husband of 43 years, David. Aimée was 62 years old.

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mystery combined with interesting information on American Indian beliefs and practices involving the use of plants. Someone is digging up already rare plants used by some Indian tribes in healing practices and rituals. The problem grows even more intense when one of the missing plants is needed to save a life.

[Linda Rowlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this novel for a nonfiction book club — we are focusing on the information about Navajo traditional uses of plants rather than on the story. The story itself was pretty thin, more a vehicle for setting forth the information about the Navajo people and their beliefs and traditions. I appreciated all of the information about the medicinal uses for native plants. Learning the common names for the plants was interesting as was learning Navajo “manners” such as not approaching someone’s house until you are invited to and not using a person’s true name.

The plot of the novel was simplistic and often seemed like a story for YA fiction.

[Kathe Forrest · Rating 3 out of 5]

I changed this to a three from a four. I enjoyed this book because of all of the plants and the idea that the Navajos take care of them… I don’t know for a fact that’s how it is in the culture but I am assuming it is. I didn’t really know who the culprit was until the very end.
A four is a high ranking for me and as I said this is a good story I enjoyed it I read it quickly but it’s not fantastic in all ways.

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read which parallels the Ella Clah series, and even has a couple of appearances by her, but is really the story of her mother Rose and how her activism ignites the tribe and stirs it to action. It's also a good resource for plant names and the Navajo culture.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shouldn't the title be "Plant Them Deeply?" Maybe it's Navajo phrasing. I read this light mystery for an herbal focused bookclub and it is certainly full of references to the New Mexico area herbs used by residents of a Navajo reservation near Shiprock. One of the authors is from the area and is very knowledgeable about Navajo customs and native plants referring to the plants as the Plant People and members of the tribe (the Dineh), concerned about their disappearances, Plant Watchers. For this reason it was a great pick for our group. Wild larkspur is "blue pollen," silvery lupine is "wondering about medicine," creeping barberry is "oak under a tree," etc.
Unfortunately I found the plot a bit of a stretch. Some of the characters were charming. This is a stand alone novel in a series and is meant to deepen readers' understanding of the Navajo world. That it does.

[Marseydoats · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read this years ago and liked it, and it was shelved next to the book I was looking for, so I decided to read it again. I really need to go back and read the entire series in order because I'm not sure I read all of them.

[Richard B. Herrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Fun exciting book. Can’t wait for the next one. I’ll be ordering it on Amazon just like this one. Thanks

[Barbara P · Rating 4 out of 5]

After visiting Canyon de Chelly on Navajo land and hearing lectures by Navajo people and watching demonstrations by a Navajo potter and rug weaver I wanted to learn more about the Navajo Indians. This historic novel was suggested. What was fun was recognizing many of the Indian names of places, plants, clans, people, etc. This novel is about the struggles between the traditionalist Navajo people and western culture, in the workplace, eduction system and in families. Many young people are breaking away and this hurts the traditionalist grand parents and sometimes parents. Plant them Deep is the first in a series of novels by the same authors. I will probably not read others in the series. I did purchase one describing Navajo medicine/western medicine. Will begin that now.

[Lisa Corathers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative book from the authors of the Ella Clah, Navajo-senior-investigator-murder-mystery series. While Ella makes multiple appearances in the book, it is centered on her mother, Rose Destea. After her children go on to live their adult lives--which fortuantely for Rose involves living on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico--Rose finds her new path in helping the Dineh (Navajo) protect endangered Plant People. Rose's son, Clifford, a hataalii (medicine man) is also prominently featured.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the many aspects of Navajo (Dineh) culture, despite the grammatical errors {!).

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was different from the other Ella Clah books I've read in the series because the protagonist was Ella's mother, Rose. It was still a mystery novel, with much the same structure as the Ella Clah novels have. I keep reading these books because they are reliably satisfying and I continue to learn new things about life on the Navajo reservation.

[Michele bookloverforever · Rating 3 out of 5]

a senior citizen, Navajo traditionalist woman investigates the theft of valuable, rare medicinal herbs from the Navajo reservation. Interesting. This character is the mother of another heroine in another series by this author. This is a lot lighter fare than the Ella Clah series. I love the background of traditional Navajo beliefs and culture. Tony Hillerman would approve.

[Edna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plant Them Deep by the Late Aimee and David Thurlo is a mystery on the Navajo Reservation.Sacred Plants were disappearing from gardens and they ask Rose Destea to find them.
This is a really good book,learned more about the Navajo/Dine, learned more words, but learned some Culture too.
This book is exciting, hard to put down.

[Ruth]

This is not about Ella Clah but about her mother, a traditional Navajo Plant Watcher (i.e.,gardener extraordinaire). It is an interesting but different point of view of Navajo life. I just enjoy reading an entire series...what can I say?

[Shomeret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always really liked Ella Clah's mother, Rose, so I was very glad to learn more about her involvement in the Plant Watchers society. I very much liked the focus on traditional herbal medicine. It was also an intriguing mystery with good characterization.

[Christiane · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to enjoy a good mystery and learn a lot about Navajo Native American culture, this is the book for you, along with the Ella Clah mystery series. You only have to ignore the high amount of typos.

[Earleen]

I enjoy the books by Aimee & David Thurlo and Tony Hillerman because they are about the Southwest and the area I grew up in.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the closeness with the earth that is illustrated by the Thurlo's books.

[wheels · Rating 2 out of 5]

a Navajo native plant murder mystery. it did the trick of taking me elsewhere. i don't think i'm a murder mystery kind of reader, even if it's about native plants.

[CK]

Aimmee and David are lovely people. I had the pleasure of meeting them and sharing a meal thanks to a mutual friend.

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Rose Destea. She's a cool character, as an older Indian woman and grandmother. She's a widow with a faithful admirer, and she's into plants. I'm hoping for more books.

[Sherri Vigil · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main character is Ella's mother... the old remedies so natural to the culture. Also beliefs to this day are viewed as superstitious to outsiders. I enjoyed this one very much because I respect.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me 10 months to read this because I kept putting it down. It wasn't full of sizzle, but it's not a bad yarn and mystery set in the south west, with Native American experience.

[Thea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the view point of Rose. I always thought she was a stick in the mud.

[Ingrid]

Love this one! Interested in healing medicines and how to gather them so it spoke to me.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I may read other books by this highly recommended author but didn't really enjoy this book. Didn't finish.