"Sacred Clowns"

Tony Hillerman’s novel "Sacred Clowns" is written from the perspective of the Navajo nation and how they experience crime within the tribe and deal with outside law enforcement. More specifically, it is a story about the crimes that are handled by two Navajo policemen named Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. The cases being handled range from a murdered school teacher killed on the job to a young boy who goes missing. The missing boy's uncle, who plays the part of a sacred clown in a tribal dance, is stabbed to death immediately after the ceremony. In addition, an old man is hit by a car on the highway and the driver left the scene.

Not only is the novel filled with suspenseful crimes to try to figure out along with the leading characters, it also has the added love story between the character Chee and a lawyer. Leaphorn is an experienced detective who continues to have problems figuring out the cases because he's still coming to grips with his wife dying 18 months before.

The novel offers an entertaining suspense/murder plot while also giving the reader personal emotional moments of both characters. Hillerman’s novel gives that something extra by mixing a good story with the trials and tribulations of the Navajo tribe and their struggle to work with modernized non-Indian police departments. It is a very interesting, entertaining and educational novel that anyone loving mystery, murder and romance must read.