Coyote Waits: A Leaphorn and Chee Novel

Leaphorn & Chee #10

by Tony Hillerman

Don’t miss the TV series, Dark Winds , based on the Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito novels, now on AMC and AMC+!   The tenth novel in Tony Hillerman's acclaimed Leaphorn and Chee series — “Bolt the door, disconnect the phone, and declare yourself off limits.... Coyote Waits is a real confounder, not at all what you expected.” ( Denver Post) The car fire didn't kill Navajo Tribal Policeman Delbert Nez—a bullet did. And the old man in possession of the murder weapon is a whiskey-soaked shaman named Ashie Pinto. Officer Jim Chee is devastated by the slaying of his good friend Del, and confounded by the prime suspect's refusal to utter a single word of confession or denial. Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn believes there is much more to this outrage than what appears on the surface, as he and Jim Chee set out to unravel a complex weave of greed and death that involves a historical find and a lost fortune. But the hungry and mythical trickster Coyote is waiting, as always, in the shadows to add a strange and deadly new twist.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Native American, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Westerns, Detective

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Tony Hillerman, who was born in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma, was a decorated combat veteran from World War II, serving as a mortarman in the 103rd Infantry Division and earning the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart. Later, he worked as a journalist from 1948 to 1962. Then he earned a Masters degree and taught journalism from 1966 to 1987 at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where he resided with his wife until his death in 2008. Hillerman, a consistently bestselling author, was ranked as New Mexico's 25th wealthiest man in 1996. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading Tony Hillerman's books for about 30 years. Now, with the help of Goodreads, I am reading all the ones that I missed. This book starts with Navajo Policeman Jim Chee finding the dead body of fellow Navajo Policeman Delbert Nez, shot dead and inside his burning patrol car. Officer Chee gets badly burned pulling Nez out of the burning car. Chee feels guilty that he wasn't there when Nez was killed and even though he is on sick leave recovering from his burns, he sets out to find out what happened to Nez.
In the meantime, a shirttail relative of Navajo Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn comes to him and tells him that her uncle, Ashie Pinto, arrested for Nez' murder, is innocent. Leaphorn tells her that the FBI has jurisdiction on all felonies committed on the reservation, but agrees to look into it. Chee and Leaphorn come at this case from different angles, but do solve the case in a very well written mystery. All the pieces come together in a satisfying ending to the plot, but a sad commentary on Native American problems.
Hillerman includes a lot of information on Navajo traditions and the local landscape. He was made an honorary member of the Navajo nation because of his very accurate portrayal of their way of life in his books. I highly recommend this book and the series. Read them in order if possible(unlike me). I rate this library book 4.5 out of 5 stars(rounded up to 5).

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

He knew the motive. Whiskey.... Water of Darkness... The savagery of whiskey erased the need for a motive. No Navajo policeman - or any policeman - had to relearn that message. Death slept in the bottle, only waiting to be released, and every policeman knew it.

This was an excellent entry in Hillerman's Navajo Mystery series.

Jim Chee is going to meet his fellow officer for coffee. But Nez sees a vandal they have been trying to get a hold of for quite some time and takes off after him.

When after drinking two cups of coffee without Nez showing up, Chee feels panic overtake him. He drives out to the rocks only to see a patrol car burning, Nez trapped inside.

Now, with Nez dead, Chee is crippled in more ways than one. His left hand is burned through from opening the car door and dragging Nez's body from the burning vehicle. Who knows if he'll ever gain use of it again? And he's also crippled with guilt about Nez. He should have gone with him, he should have worried about him sooner. All this is his fault, Chee believes. He plans on resigning from the force as soon as the killer is caught.

The killer turns out to be an eighty-year-old decrepit shaman, one Hosteen Ashie Pinto. Found shit-faced on the side of the road walking away from the accident.

He has a bottle of expensive whiskey in his hand and a recently fired gun in his waistband. All he'll say is "I am ashamed. I am ashamed." with no word on why he killed Nez and no actual confession.

BUT DID ASHIE PINTO REALLY KILL NEZ? Was The Drink enough to drive this man to murder as it was when he killed that another decades ago?
...

Chee is determined to put whoever murdered his colleague away.

Lieutenant Leaphorn is approached by two women - a relative of Pinto and a professor who was working with Pinto - to help Pinto get off. The women are convinced Pinto is innocent.

A drunken old man full of shame. A vandal who is making white marks on a volcano for no apparent reason. A missing history professor. A Vietnamese general-turned-math-teacher. Can Chee and Leaphorn make sense of all the clues and find out the truth before Chee's love interest Janet Pete has to represent Pinto at the trial? Could something more sinister than a drunken rage be at the root of this slaying?

Leaphorn and Chee are on the case!
...

Leaphorn and Chee are STILL NOT FRIENDS, for those of you keeping track at home. I don't know what is up with Hillerman. This is book #10 in the series and we still have Leaphorn showing up at Chee's trailer in an accusatory way and the two not fully communicating or trusting each other. I am very frustrated.

The closest we get is Leaphorn's grudging admission of Chee's bravery.

Now Chee was refilling the pot, the heavy bandage on his left hand making it a clumsy project. The fruit of freelancing, Leaphorn thought. But in fairness he should say a dead policeman was the result of the rules-bending, the burned hand the product of Chee's bravery. He wondered if he would have walked into that fire, gripped that red-hot door handle, to save another man's life. He wasn't sure he would have. He might have stood there, calculating the odds of success - trying to do what was rational.
...

We have two love stories here in this novel, much to my delight.

Chee is continuing his pursuit of the elusive lawyer Janet Pete.

The thing about Janet Pete was that he could talk to her about things that were hard to talk about. She wasn't Mary Landon. NO soft, pale hair, no bottomless blue eyes, no talent for making him feel like the ultimate male. But by tomorrow, he thought, he could talk to her about listening to Delbert Nez laughing on the radio. He could talk to her about how the dreadful feeling grew as he sat over his coffee at the Red Rock Trading Post, and waited, and waited, and waited.

But with Janet Pete having the job of representing Pinto in the murder trial, and Chee's fierce determination to nail him for the murder of his colleague, the two potential lovebirds are butting heads.

A very classy woman, Chee thought. He felt a wave of affection, and of chauvinistic Navajo pride in her. And more than that, he felt a hunger for her. And a sense of failure. Since the day she'd come to the hospital to see him he'd lost ground with her. He was sure of that. She liked him less now than she did that morning.

I thought the resolution of this whole problem was BRILLIANTLY done by Hillerman. He exactly captures how miscommunication and misreading of people can lead to strife in a relationship, and also showcases what a good man Chee is and how that is shining through to Janet Pete. Very cute.
...

Our second love story takes us by surprised as the widowed Leaphorn struggles with depression and a desire to travel.

When Professor Bourebonette storms into his office, claiming that Pinto is innocent, Leaphorn is curious.

She's so smart...

She nodded, agreeing with some inner notion. Leaphorn considered her. What was she thinking? It would be something intelligent, he was sure of that.

And a good listener...

Long silences didn't seem to bother her. Unusual in a white.

And she smells so good...

He smelled coffee brewing. Professor Bourebonette was wearing a cologne of some sort. The aroma was very, very faint. So faint it might be his imagination.

Of course, we - the readers, can see what is happening, but our old friend Leaphorn is a little bit slow on the uptake.

Leaphorn considered whether he would look stupid if he was wrong. It occurred to him that he was showing off. And enjoying it. He considered that. Why would he be showing off? Why enjoying this?

Sigh. Let's be patient with him. He'll figure it out eventually!

I won't tell you how this (potential) love story ends, but let me just tell you that I was tickled pink by the ending of this novel. Very exciting.
...

Tl;dr - An interesting and captivating mystery. A bonus: two possible love stories for the price of one!

Is the old man guilty of killing a policeman in a fit of rage?

Can Chee and Janet Pete keep their budding relationship strong even while on opposite sides of the courtroom?

Is widower Leaphorn actually noticing another woman!?!?!?!?!?!

All this and more in the exciting tenth novel by Tony Hillerman!

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Navaho Tribal Policeman is shot in his vehicle and the vehicle set on fire. Another policeman, Jim Chee, finds him and drags him out before noting that the man has already died. Chee and the man have been good friends. Shortly thereafter, Chee finds an old man wandering on the highway. The man is drunk and carrying a revolver that is later proved to be the murder weapon. Is he the murderer?

This is one of Hillerman’s best. It has a good plot, something that is essential to a mystery. It has some well-drawn characters, something that is essential to a police procedural. What takes it to another level is the intelligence of so many characters and how essential that is to the story.

This book is the first time that we readers witness Chee working with the “legendary” Joe Leaphorn, a decorated Tribal police officer. And, it’s the introduction of Leaphorn to someone who will be a continuing presence in the series, Professor Lisa Bourebonette.

Hillerman is delightfully skilled at blending the elements of Navajo culture with ways that people think and relate to each other. Here we have an ending that will surprise most if not all readers coupled with characters that are both interesting and smart. Very well done!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great mystery with Lt Leaphorn and Jim Chee wrapped in Navajo lore and culture. I so enjoy learning more about Navajo culture. There is vandalism on the landscape, a Tribal Police Officer is killed, a Navajo old-timer and shaman is implicated, an academic is missing and there is an enigmatic former Colonel in the South Vietnamese Army perhaps with ties to the CIA and a story about Butch Cassidy and a train robbery with unrecovered loot. How is all this tied together? Lt Leaphorn and Jim Chee come at this mystery from different perspectives, but each moves closer to finding answer.

This novel focuses on Jim Chee and gives us more insight into his character. He is filled with guilt not being able to save his friend Dez, even though he sustained burns trying. He is placed on what is essentially medical leave and takes the opportunity to pursue the homicide despite having arrested the prime suspect when a friend shows up to be the man's attorney and insists he is innocent. It's the impetus he needs to understand the motive for the murder of a fellow police officer and friend, and some incongruent facts about the case.

There is a lot going on including an additional murder. Leaphorn and Chee need to unwrap the mysteries surrounding the deaths before someone else finds themselves in the crosshairs as the coyote waits.

[L.G. Cullens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Idly rummaging through some used books on the salvaged table at the village recycling station, the cover of this book caught my eye. Seeing it was one of Tony Hillerman's books, I began thumbing through it and recognized the book as one of the Joe Leaphorn / Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series I'd read (likely in the 1990s).

Academics, murderous villainy, rattlesnakes, skinwalkers, and even Butch Cassidy all mix in the twists of this tale. Coyote is a trickster in much of Native American myth, and Coyote's imposed fate plays a guiding role in the solution of this plot's puzzle. 'Gently impressive mystery fiction' is the best phrase I've come across to describe Tony Hillerman's writing.

I've found Tony Hillerman's books an enjoyable pastime over the years, and having spent a little time in the Four Corners region could easily visualize the settings.

[Ms.pegasus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jim Chee has fallen into disharmony. The painful burns on his hand and chest are reminders of failure and not heroism. His arrest of the apparent perpetrator of his friend and fellow officer Delbert Nez's murder only slightly assuages the guilt he feels. Even this small consolation is now being ruined. Lt. Leaphorn, Leaphorn the Great he bitterly thinks, has invited himself into an investigation which looks like an open and shut case.

This is not the Jim Chee that readers of the series are accustomed to seeing. Chee is also overwhelmed by feelings of personal failure. He had hoped to become a spiritual healer under the tutelage of his maternal uncle Frank Sam Nakai. However, subtle avoidance has made it clear that the community views his role as tribal community police officer is in conflict with his role as healer. Not even the return of Janet Pete raises his spirits completely. She has been assigned as defense attorney for the man that Chee arrested. His attempts to reconnect and perhaps even deepen their relationship are marred by suspicion. Is she friend or lawyer when they speak to each other?

Leaphorn's involvement in the investigation, an involvement that Chee deeply resents, is purely accidental. The accused perpetrator's niece is a member of his late wife Emma's clan, so he is pulled in by the familial obligation. He silently agrees that Chee should have provided backup for Nez, no matter how insistent Nez had been that he didn't need assistance. Leaphorn, unlike Chee, has a very secular world view and never understood Chee's desire to be a traditional spiritual healer. However, an almost paternal sense of disappointment seems to underlie these rational criticisms. Chee is a gifted investigator, smart and with good instincts, but his independence and disregard of rules will never allow him to rise in rank. (Of course, Leaphorn skirts the rules as well, but he does it with more finesse!)

The details of the case are intriguing. Nez was apparently in the process of arresting the vandal who had been defacing one of the massive basalt extrusions that marked the landscape with white paint when he was murdered. Why would a petty vandal murder a tribal police officer? The suspect Chee arrested, Ashie Pinto, is an eighty year old Navajo who lived 200 miles from the murder site and did not own a car. He was well known as a non-drinker ever since his youth when he accidentally killed someone while drunk. He did not own a pistol and had no money. Yet, he was found wandering away from the murder scene drinking a bottle of expensive whiskey and with $100 in his wallet and a pistol tucked into his belt.

Navajo mythology figures heavily in this novel, as the title suggests. Coyote is one of those bewildering figures of Native American folklore. He is characterized as a trickster, playing pranks and occasionally getting a taste of his own medicine from the victims he has angered. Chee recounts: “'I know about his tricks. I have heard the stories. How he snatched the blanket and scattered the stars into the Milky Way. How he stole the baby of Water Monster. How he tricked the sister of the bear into marrying him....'” (p.233). Ashie Pinto corrects Chee: “'The children are told the funny stories about Coyote so they will not be afraid.'” (p.233) He adds that Coyote's true name is atse' hashkke or First Angry. Coyote waits patiently for an opportunity to sow chaos and destroy harmony. Harmony is critical for the survival of a rural community like the Navajo. To call someone a coyote was a grave insult implying an accusation of having a malicious character.

The two separate investigations resemble two people working on a jigsaw puzzle ignoring the fact that sharing pieces will be necessary to complete the puzzle. This is the 10th book in the Leaphorn/Chee series and for me, a unusual examination of the two characters. There is also a bittersweet vibe as Leaphorn deals with his loneliness and Chee deals with feelings of failure. In contrast the secondary characters felt not quite believable. They were interesting but also felt too obviously fashioned to serve the plot. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book immensely and thought it was one of the best in the series.

NOTES:
There are several Coyote stories narrated by Native Americans on youtube. Listeners will recall with amusement Chee's frustration with the Navajo tradition of narrating each story from the beginning of time.

[tomlinton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know the names of the books
in Jim Chee's trailer
for yei's sake

I had coffee for breakfast this morning
Waffles for dinner last night
Lunch of corn meal boiled
then top browned
with roasted kidney beans
and finished with butternut squash soup
and that was just
to get into the mood

After yesterday's reading
A Thief of Time
up near Grand Gulch Utah
leading down to the San Juan River
between Mexican Hat and Bluff
reminiscing about my drives and hikes
into the 25,000 square mile Navajo Big Rez
and nearby

All that's missing
is a photograph of sunset
from a high spot on the highway
out over the peaks and washes
through the shadows of the thunderheads
and the visible rain
which might not even touch the ground

No I also
need a double-expanded AAA map
of the 4-corners Indian Country
like Joe Leaphorn's
so I can stick
different colored map pins in it
and find the patterns
which would bring
every thing
everything
into a semblance
of Navajo Hohzho

Harmony

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jim Chee investigates when a colleague is killed in what appeared to be a routine traffic stop. An elderly shaman is found, drunk and confused. Chee's object of affection is charged with defending the old man, and this creates a rift between them.

Leaphorn decides to investigate and finds links to a legend and a lost fortune. Chee learns that maybe one simply can't be a shaman and a policeman.

Not bad.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like these stories but have always been disappointed with the Chee/Leaphorn relationship. Sigh...This time I figured it out. It will not change into a Starsky and Hutch type where they work together. After reading the first 9 in the series it has become apparent to me that they only cross paths about once every 2 years or so. That explains why they don't "consult" with each other and solve the cases faster! I am so dumb sometimes...

[Hana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thinly plotted and less interesting than A Thief of Time but still worth a read for fans of Tribal Police Officer Jim Chee and Lt. Joe Leaphorn. Hillerman's descriptions of the Southwest Border Country make me want to 'Go West, old lady! Go West!'.

On the vast rolling prairie that lead away from the highway toward the black shape of Ship Rock every clump of sagebrush, every juniper, every snakeweed, every hummock of bunch grass cast it's long blue shadow--an infinity of lines of darkness undulating across the glowing landscape....

North, over Sleeping Ute Mountain in Colorado, over Utah's Abajo Mountains, great thunderheads were reaching their evening climax. Their tops, reflecting in the direct sun, were snowy white and the long streamers of ice crystals blown from them seemed to glitter. But at lower levels the light that struck them had been filtered through the clouds over the Chuskas and turned into shades of rose, pink, and red. Lower still, the failing light mottled them from pale blue-grey to the deepest blue. Overhead, the streaks of high-level cirrus clouds were being ignited by the sunset. They drove through a fiery twilight.

Sadly, the love interests did not interest me and I found Chee's guilt trip over the death of his cop friend, Officer Delbert Nez, somewhat unconvincing. The most compelling character was the elderly drunken Navajo charged with the murder of Officer Nez. Ashie Pinto is a shaman who says nothing on his arrest except "I am ashamed. I am ashamed."

[Carol Jones-Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee are two of my favorite characters, so I was pleased to re-discover this Tony Hillerman book. This one was as interesting and exciting as any of the previous ones. Both Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn have significant roles. Jim gets injured trying to get a friend out of a burning car. He is on medical leave but still follows up on leads. His former girl friend, Janet Pete has returned to the area and is defending the accused murderer. Navaho legends and scholarly research enter into the story as well

[Harry Heitman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hillerman wrote great mysteries steeped in Native American lore and this one did not disappoint.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you love mysteries set in the Southwest, you'll enjoy the great Tony Hillerman's Navajo Mysteries series. We're introduced to Tribal Police Officer Jim Chee and FBI agent Joe Leaphorn. These two men are embarked on the same wild case of a death of a Tribal Policeman Delbert Nez, which is nothing what it seemed to be. From breath-taking Arizonan landscape to majestic New Mexican scenery, he painted a picturesque scene with various and eclectic characters. He takes us on a wild ride on this mystery that has many surprises to keep us guessing right to the end with a wild twist. We get to see and learn about Native American culture.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could Chee and Leaphorn end up happy? You can almost think that by reading this book. But Coyote is always out there waiting, and Coyote is always hungry.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I promised myself after I retired that I would go back and reread all of the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee novels in the order that they were written. This book involves a crime that once again has Leaphorn and Chee looking into it for different reasons and combining forces at the end. It also addresses the role that alcoholism plays on the reservation.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this little markets where people sell about anything secondhand, I have bought some great stuff including secondhand Hardcover books for next to nothing. It also the placeto acquire books your would not have bought in you usual state of mind. Which deleivers the odd surprise now and then especially when it comes to sleuthing of the ethnic variety.

This is a book from a series about policing in the Native American reservation by the inhabitants themselves, the general white person in this book does not end up with great moments sooner the opposite. Did I mind, actuallu NO it didn't since it served the plot of the book and I would not be too surprised, reading the average sentinment these day towards other people than white religious rightwing folks, if some of this stuff is actually very true to the real world.

The story tells about the death of a policemen of Indian decent and how his collegue is left with so many unanswered questions even if he apperently has caught the killer immidiately. As the suspect does not speak at all, was drunk on the night itself and in possession of the gun that killed the man the case is considered solved. And yet there seems to be no other motive than being drunk, the federal authories consider the suspect a done deal and quit asking aymore questions. The cop who found his buddy and ended up hurt does some sleuthing during his sickleave. Then there is the case of another slightly higher ranking policeman being asked to look intoi the case by the suspects family and friend whom whe worked with.

As a whodunnit it is not a big masterpiece but it does give you some insight in the world of Navajo folklore. Even the style of writing reflects a way of acting and thinking that belongs to that culture. Both leading men Chee and Leaphorn are fairly well characterized in that you get a very good sense what they are like and what they are about.

An enjoyable read and a somewhat unexpected one that took me out of my average reading pattern. I just might visit this writer again.

[Silvio111 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love every Leaphorn and/or Chee novel that Hillerman has written.

However, as I have noted elsewhere, in the latter half of the series, the very annoying anthropologist, Louisa Bourbonette, makes her way onto the scene and ingratiates herself into Leaphorn's investigation with a degree of entitlement that always has rubbed me the wrong way. Of course, it's no good blaming Leaphorn; I blame Hillerman. I wrote him a letter to this effect at one point but it did absolutely no good.

However, now I discover Coyote Waits, which appears to be the book where Leaphorn meets her for the first time. In this book, she is feisty and independent and fierce. He starts out distrusting her motives but comes to see her a bit more clearly by the end of the story.

I actually like Bourbonette in this first appearance. In subsequent books, she smugly invites herself along on those long rides through New Mexico and Arizona, gives her unsolicited opinion, and at one point, I think Leaphorn moves in with her. I felt these developments were a total betrayal of Leaphorn's late wife, Emma, who was a graceful and intuitive woman, completely true to her Navajo culture. Bourbonette, on the other hand, lacks context.

Anyway, I have never met anybody who shared my disinclination to welcome her with open arms. I am merely noting for the record that Coyote Waits presents her in a more righteous and authentic light, rather than the usurper I later found her to be.

[Cheesecake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both Chee and Leaphorn come at this mystery from different angles.

Jim Chee feels responsible for the death of his friend and fellow Cop, Nez. He's sure that the man he picked up near the crime site is the killer, but Janet Pete is the fellow's lawyer and is equally determined to prove his innocence.
There's a lot of discordance between Jim and Janet in this one. Chee's feeling down about a lot of things, and she's just not there for him. It's such a one sided friendship and I wish he'd get over her.
But anyways,
This one introduces a good looking older professor who also wants to prove the arrested man's innocence. And then Leaphorn turns out to have some family ties to the man and is also brought in to see if the man is really guilty. And what's with someone painting cliff faces white?

I remembered this one pretty well because the reason for the crimes was a bit fantastical but also interesting.
Justice is served in it's usual round about way for a Hillerman tale.
And Leaphorn starts his friendship with Professor Bourebonette. Hillerman likes his women strong which is way cool, but sometimes they are a little on the bitchy side.

[Maurean · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I stated before, this is my second installment of the Jim Chee series, and I have come away with the same mixed feelings I had on the first go-around.

While I found the Navajo lore to be very interesting and informative, and Mr. Hillerman's characters are very well-developed and entertaining, my disappointments lie in the mysteries these tales are based around. The mystery seems to take a backseat to the lives and setting of the characters involved. I would prefer a bit more intrigue in the whodunit portions of the series.

Overall, tho, it was a quick, lite read ( I *did* enjoy this one better than the first), and I appriciate the opportunity to give it a go.

[Lynn Pribus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sure I've read this one, but here it was on the shelf at our 100-year-old home rental in Maine. It's Leaphorn after his wife's death and he meets Louisa who becomes a romantic interest in subsequent books, as I recall.

Also Jim Chee in the aftermath of his Minnesota white love going back home and Janet Pete returning from DC. He badly burns his hands trying to rescue a murdered Navajo police from a burning car.

The plot is interesting as usual and a very quick read with the usual Navajo lore interlaced with the story.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all the novels in this series, I enjoyed learning about the spiritual practices of the Navajo. An elderly Navajo shaman is accused of murder. Unfortunately, he won’t deny, defend, or answer any questions. He simply sits in passive silence while Detectives Leaphorn and Officer Chee take separate paths to finding out the truth of the incident. Coyote is a wild card in Navajo mythology and a danger sign to anyone who knows his true character. The story takes us deep into the witch lands and strange happenings that take place there.

[Polo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable book of mystery with likable and complex characters. I like the setting and landscapes of the Four Corners area with trips to Albuquerque. The landscapes, Navajo legends and Butch Cassidy lore make this an intriguing read. Most of the book was so engaging that I can forgive the somewhat weak ending.

[Kevin Findley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hillerman had a very good grasp on his primary characters by this point. Chee and Leaphorn both do not give up once they have a grip on something, they just approach it from different POV and methods.

If memory serves, this is also the first time the two actually work together, so this is also a great jumping on point for readers new to Hillerman.

READ IT!

[Gerald Hickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tony Hillerman books are always one of my first choices for a reread. This one has both Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn with mystery, action and great great descriptions of the 4 Corners area scenery.
Good book, plot, storyline.

[David Crow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tony Hillerman's books always make the reader feel as though they are with Leaphorn and Chee on the Navajo Indian reservation. Having grown up there myself, I love the authenticity. Hillerman's books are all good, but the plot on this one seemed to drag a bit. Still, I am a huge fun.

[Jay Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chee fails to back up an officer and that officer dies. He is killed by a drunk old Navaho found walking away.He has the murder weapon and they have an open and shut case. Chee is injured pulling the dead officer out of a burning car. But questions arise. How did he get 200 miles from his home when he had no vehicle. Where did the $100 come from because he was known to be drunk? Who purchased the expensive whiskey? Leaphorn gets involved also due to the fact that the murderer is distant family. The mystery is twisted and it ends up with an unexpected result.

[Laura Knaapen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leaphorn and Chee once again find themselves on the same case from different sources. I hope they can start working together soon. They are lone wolves, but not coyotes.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this many years ago, when it first came out in 1990, and have just re-read it, as I am reading a series of other southwestern-themed mysteries and I wanted to see if Hillerman’s stories held up against both time and the newer stories. The answer is yes, it did – it held up well against both.
I still enjoyed it very much, even after 20-plus years. I had remembered some of it, but not all, so some of it felt new again. And although the Internet, DNA and smart phones have taken over our lives since 1990, I did not feel the book needed them. It still had the magic of describing the Arizona / New Mexico countryside and weather on the Navajo reservation. It still wove the Navajo traditions into the story, and the different viewpoints on those traditions of the two policemen, Chee and Leaphorn, who view them as essential or eccentric respectively.
This is a Leaphorn and Chee mystery, as you might expect; but they hardly ever meet. The interesting thing is how they investigate the crime with two opposite motives; Chee is investigating to justify himself and prove that the person he arrested is guilty, while Leaphorn has been asked by a relative to investigate and prove that the arrested person is innocent. When they do meet, Leaphorn thinks of Chee as an impetuous loner; Chee thinks Leaphorn is interfering; but they seem to be able to cooperate anyway.
The story begins with Chee finding his friend and colleague Officer Delbert Nez dead of two bullet wounds in a burning police patrol car. Nez had been searching for a phantom rock-painter. Just up the road from the murder scene, Chee finds and arrests a drunken Navajo shaman (Ashie Pinto) is found with a gun and a bottle of expensive whisky. Pinto refuses to say anything expect that he is ashamed of himself. His court-appointed defender is Janet Pete, a woman for whom Chee has a crush. To justify himself and the arrest to Janet, Chee, while on medical leave (He burnt himself trying to get Nez out of the patrol car), tries to do further investigation of the murder on his own. (Technically, the FBI investigates murder on the reservation, not the Navajo Police). His investigation takes him back to his old university and to scholarly folks arguing about the last raid of Butch Cassidy, who may or may not have died on the Reservation. He also manages to put himself in harm’s way, which may be a theme with Chee.
Meanwhile, it turns out that Leaphorn is related to the old shaman, and is called upon by family to investigate, but from the viewpoint of assuming Pinto’s innocence. There are certainly troubling questions – how did the old man, who is broke and car-less, get to the crime scene 150 miles away, with $100 in his pocket? How did he acquire an expensive gun? Or even the whisky? It seems that the old man is a treasure chest of old Navajo stories, and scholars love to record and copy down these old tales. One of them, naturally, concerns a blond Anglo train-robber….. And this is where Leaphorn and Chee’s investigations start to dovetail.
We have second murder take place when an ex-colonel from South Vietnam (now a teacher) is killed in his home, and in fact the murder leads the investigators to an important witness, the original rock-painter.
As an aside, this seems to be the book where Joe Leaphorn meets Professor Louisa Bourebonette, who will become his companion in later books.
And in the background, Coyote is always waiting to trick the unwary…..
I loved it all over again. Great story, great imagination, great background and location.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a reader whose interest is in the literature of the American West, rather than mystery writing, I had to be encouraged to read Tony Hillerman. And it was a happy discovery when I read "Coyote Waits." With his cast of Navajo characters, including law officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, the author introduces readers to the world of the modern-day reservation and the surviving Navajo culture in the Four Corners area of New Mexico and Arizona.

The coyote of the title, from Navajo mythology, represents a darker side of human psychology, as it is understood by these Native Americans. It stands for the unexplainable destructive forces that disrupt all efforts to achieve the ideals of peace and harmony. Hillerman's understanding of Navajo customs and values, the legacy of white domination, and the complexities of law enforcement on the reservation makes the chapters of his book read like a fascinating social history.

You can also read this book with a road atlas open beside you. Hillerman places the story in a real world of highways, dirt tracks, natural landmarks, and small reservation towns, with side trips to Albuquerque. The descriptions of landscapes and the play of sunlight are vivid, and there is frequent reference to the changing autumn weather. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in well-drawn characters, the American West, and Native American culture and life.

[David Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently re-read this, probably 10 years or more since I first read it, and it was still extremely enjoyable. I love the way Hillerman explains and respects the Navajos and other Native American groups, but is also able to portray their differences and conflicts. His love of the southwest is always present as well.
The book has the usual lead characters, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, and several others are familiar as well -- Janet Peet in particular. Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn are suitably flawed, of course (more so the younger Chee, of course), but the least attractive characters are often from the Federal agencies -- FBI, BLM, etc. (Why is it that mystery writers seem to universally think little of the FBI? or is it only the ones I read?)
This story is unusual in several respects, and enjoyably so. And the sadness of the ending will certainly be carried forward to later books in the series.
I am sure I would enjoy re-reading this again in another 10 years...