Tony Hillerman's The Fallen Man reunites Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn to solve another mystery. The characters have appeared together and separately in other Hillerman stories. In this novel, Joe Leaphorn is haunted by thoughts of something that he couldn't solve eleven years earlier. He's bored and lonely, missing his deceased wife, too. At first, Jim didn't want to get involved, but then his love, Janet, was at risk. He didn't want anything to happen to her, so he joined Joe to figure out another case.
On a Halloween, there were bones found where they shouldn't have been. What were they doing at Ship Rock, above the desert? This was a sacred place to the Navajo people, after all. Hal Breedlove disappeared, and they are thought to be his bones, but did he fall or was he murdered? Also, when did he die? He was supposed to inherit a fortune after his thirtieth birthday. That was a motive to kill, but who? There is the woman who inherited the land and her brother, as well as others that may have done it, since some actually knew how rich he was. Then, the old canyon guide is killed after the skeleton is found. He was the last one to see Breedlove alive. What is going on?
Hillerman has excelled at another fine book, bringing Chee and Leaphorn back for his readers. Not only that, but the way Hillerman describes the beauty of the Navajo lands almost takes the reader there. If you enjoy mysteries, Hilerman writes a great one, and this is perfect for the first-timer. However, this story ends a bit differently than his other works.
