Bad Medicine

Ella Clah #3

by Aimée Thurlo, David Thurlo

Not even Navajo witches can stop Ella Clah in Aimee and David Thurlo's Bad Medicine, the third book in this beloved series

When the daughter of Senator Yellowhair is killed in a suspicious car accident, the Senator accuses Ella and the tribe's medical examiner, Dr. Carolyn Roanhorse, of falsifying the autopsy results. An outbreak of meningitis leads to more trouble when many of those who are vaccinated against the illness begin dying from a different, unidentified disease. Riots between Indian and white workers at the Navajo-owned mine stretch the resources of the tribal police even thinner.

Convinced that solving one mystery means solving them all, Ella plunges into her investigations despite threats from all sides and her suspicions that Navajo witches are somehow involved. Ella Clah has sworn to protect her people from all menaces--spiritual or physical--and she's not going to back off now.

Genres: Mystery, Native American, Fiction, Westerns, Crime, Suspense

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

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

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given this 3.5 stars if I could, but it is closer to a 4 than a 3. A fair story with good action and plotting until the end. I would have deducted 1/2 a point for the incomplete ending. We never found out what happened to the jerk Senator, and did they get the meningitis under control, and did things smooth out at the mine? Should have had a wrap up chapter.

[Patti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would rate this book 3.5 stars, if that was a choice. I really like this series, I like Ella Clah, her coworkers, how she is learning to accept her own intuitive gifts, her family, but the pace drives me crazy. It's just a little too fast-paced for me. Sometimes I just want Ella to get enough sleep, or have a complete conversation, without something happening (explosion, gunshot, phone call...). In addition to it being a mystery series, I'm attracted to two other features in these books; 1) the southwest setting and 2) the Navajo reservation setting, along with the culture that the reader finds out about by reading this series.

Recommended, especially to those who like southwest settings, and a fast pace.

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ella is up to her usual - fighting for her rights both as a woman and a professional police officer, while also working hard to discover the culprit behind a highly publicized murder. She also gets involved in race riots between her Native American people and the whites who want to take - by force if necessary - the lands and associated minerals and other riches that belong by law and heritage to the clans.

A Very Good Read!

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Native American senator's daughter diers in a car crash while stoned. There is conflict at the coal mine owned by the Navajo tribe between the white and Indian workers and death bodies pile up. Medical examiner Roanhorse is accussed of being a witch. Investigator Ella Clah starts receiving messages from the grave from her former father-in-law who had been police chief and a skinwalker.

[Loraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing and complex mystery, Bad Medicine stars a female Navajo police detective and female Medical Examiner finding their way through two murders, a mine workers' fight between Anglos and Navajos, a down and dirty senator, and Navajo beliefs and traditions. Filled with twists and turns, I really enjoyed this novel.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Tony Hillerman, this well-published couple Aimee and David Thurlo writes a skillfully interwoven plot. Provides a window on Native American/Anglo cultural tension in a New Mexican reservation mining community. Intuition and minimal magic involved.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Ella Clah, altho' it wouldn't be bad for her to get a love interest that lasted at some point--she is a great Native American and the mysteries are very good

[Lois Gaudard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story with lots of exciting action. A page turner.

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

En route to a homicide scene--Navajo rights activist Stanley Bitah has been clubbed to death--tribal police officer Ella Clah stops to check out a report of a drunk driver, only to find that Angelina Yellowhair isn't drunk but that she'd been fatally poisoned even before her car crashes. The two apparently unrelated murders are an apt image for this overstuffed novel of Anglo-Navajo conflicts, suspicions, and animosities. Was Bitah killed by one of the fellow coal miners who resented his ties to the militant Navajo Justice Church, or is the murder the work of the white-supremacist Brotherhood, or of the Fierce Ones of the Navajo reservation? It's impossible for Ella to focus on that case, because Angelina's father, influential State Senator James Yellowhair, is leaning hard on Ella and her friend, tribal medical examiner Carolyn Roanhorse, to ignore forensic evidence that Angelina had drugs in her system and shut down that investigation. While Ella's struggling to balance her caseload without losing her cool with any of the dozens of hotheaded suspects, Angelina's tissue samples disappear; her poisoned organs follow; devastating infections break out among Carolyn's patients; and suddenly the medical examiner is on the way to being discredited, fired, and burned out of her home. To top it off, Ella's hated father-in-law is sending her taunting notes from beyond the grave. This series is better than the Lee Nez novels

[Kathy Schouten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just started reading this series, and I was a little disappointed in book 2. However I very much liked this book. The characters, especially Ella, Justine, and Carolyn were more developed and the addition of Kevin as a possible romantic interest was a teaser. There were so many cases/stories intertwined in this book, that like Ella, I was feeling overwhelmed. But everything came together and made sense at the end. I enjoy the clash and harmony of two cultures on the reservation.

[Bj Hoover · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third in the Ella Clah series, written in 1997, continues the fastinating story of a Navajo detective and her fight against evil and the threats to the Navajo Nation. I enjoyed it just as much in this reread as when I first read it 15 years ago. If you like the books by Tony Hillerman, you will enjoy these Thurlo books

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really enjoying these Ella Clah novels. They are good mysteries/cop novels with that great Southwest Navajo flavor. I look forward to reading more

[Bonnie Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying these Ella Clah novels. If you like Tony Hillerman, try this series. I wish I had discovered them sooner.

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read in this series and enjoyed it. Will have to go back and read the first two. Really like the main character, Ella, she is a very capable and confident woman. She is torn between duty and her native beliefs at times and is trying to keep the peace between Natives and non-Natives.
In this story Ella is investigating the death of a native Senator's daughter and is getting a lot of resistance from the Senator. He thinks it will impact his career, he doesn't really seem to care about his daughter or bringing a killer to justice. He uses a lot of power to influence people to get his way. At the same time there is problems at the local mine between the Natives and non-natives. Several people have been killed, beaten up, shot at and lots of other disturbances. Ella has her life threatened numerous times and she always feels like she is a bit behind in everything. Are the two cases connected? Is the sudden outbreak of illness in the tribe also connected?
Ella has a great group of law enforcement people who she relies on and are a big part of the story, her colleague, Justine, is wonderful and she seems to get a lot done. The tribal M.E., Carolyn, is a close friend who is very deeply involved in the case and the Senator and others seem to want her out and are trying to frame her. The Natives don't like anyone who works with the dead and make her life difficult. The local FBI agent is also very instrumental in helping solve the crimes and he works well with Ella. Her family is a big part of her life. She lives with her mom and her brother is a medicine man for the tribe. They all have special talents and intuitions that come into play.
There is talk of 'skinwalkers' and reference to things they did in the previous books but it is never really spelled out what they are. Lots of discussions about tribal beliefs and customs which I enjoyed and the tensions between Natives and Non-Natives. Really good descriptions of the settings, makes you feel like you are right there.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of Ella Clah mysteries is good because it deals with a lot of Navajo customs. Ella is a Navajo police woman who was widowed early and is devoting her life to making the reservation safe. It tells about the reservation police and how they solve crimes with the sometime aid of the FBI. She seems to get involved with 2 or 3 crimes at a time that get inter-related. This happened in two of the series that I have read so far. These books are similar to Tony Hillerman's books about the 4 corner area of New Mexico and the Navajo tribal police.

She doesn't want to get married to two different wonderful men in the book. She is focused on her career. She tries to reconcile her traditionalist Navajo ways with the modern Anglo world. She had moved off the reservation to Los Angelos, California to work for the FBI for several years but returned to the reservation. Evidently there at least 5 in the series written in the 1990's.
I am currently reading " Shooting Chant", another Ella Clah mystery written in 1997.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite two murders happening in the first chapter, the book is sluggish and boring and I finally gave up trying to make myself finish it. (Although I did skim the ending when I gave up trying to power through and just like the other two books, not much is resolved and loose ends abound. Glad I quit!)
Aside from the boring pace, the dialogue is forced, the exposition a repetition of what we’ve been told in the previous books. The characters just aren’t interesting either. Ella seems to have no sense of humor, the FBI agent is basically a caricature of a macho law enforcement officer. Rose’s dialogue consists mostly of nagging her daughter to get hobbies and make babies. Etc. I am officially giving up on this series.

[Norma Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 of the Ella Clah series, it is set in New Mexico on the Navajo Rez and surrounding areas as we follow Ella, sidekick Justine, Big Ed and others as they conduct business in various cases of police work. Light, easy reading giving the flavor of the old ways and new as the Rez runs into acculturation issues of trying to survive financially and traditionally. we follow three generations of several families as plots thicken and cases get solved with a lot of personal insight into the struggles of everyday life.

[Steve Payne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The dialogue was clipped and forced much of the time. The endings left a lot to be desired. The tie in with the senator was not resolved at all.

[Eileen Lynx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very exciting and suspenseful story!

[Chuck Ledger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very solid read.

[Mayra Luria · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories are great. The characters are humans working to be their best or worst self. Kept my attention the entire read

[Raelene · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read!

Read this book before but wanted to add to my collection. Love this book! One of my favorite authors. Two thumbs up!

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few too many "she could feel something bad was going to happen"s. Otherwise, good story. 3.5

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bogged in the middle and got better at the end. I do wish we'd have some straight murder mysteries and less mysticism.

[Kallie Vaughan Moulton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree, easy read. Good insight into reservation life.

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read the first four installments in this series and Bad Medicine is unfortunately too similar in plot,character development and pace. I do have a tendency to read series as a group which might be the problem. Maybe it's too much at one time. The Ella Clah novels seem too repetitive and a bit boring. I'll give it some time and try again later this year in fairness to the authors.

[Cyn McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could also be called Bad Editing. At least in this one Ella is not racking her mike every third page. The skinwalkers from the first two books are still active and out to get Ella and her family. Usually I don't mind story arcs that take time to develop, but this one is getting old. If I hadn't liked later books in this series, I would be tempted to stop reading them.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I continue enjoying this series very much. I'm not a big detective/thriller reader, but what I like about these is the Navajo cultural tidbits. I will continue reading the rest of the books in the series.

[Bonnie Drummond · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly recommend book to read for anyone who really likes to read on the edge of what ever you are sitting on; it's a highly charged book from a Ghost from the Grave, And an out break of a Meninjiste, and a Friendship and or Marriage that's lost forever. This book has it all.

[Nancy Savonick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another book I had to take back to the library before I was finished--and I probably won't take out again. I like the Sister Agatha series, but the Ella Clah series doesn't interest me.