Coyote Waits

Navajo Tribal Policeman Delbert Nez is found dead on the reservation with a bullet in him and a whiskey-soaked shaman named Ashie Pinto holding the apparent murder weapon. Officer Jim Chee, devastated by the loss of his friend, faces a suspect who refuses to speak a single word of confession or denial. Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn suspects the case reaches much further than a single killing, into a tangled history of greed and an important archaeological discovery. The tenth Leaphorn and Chee novel brings Tony Hillerman's signature sense of place and his deep respect for Navajo tradition to a mystery rooted in the tension between old grievances and new opportunity.

George Guidall's narration of the Leaphorn and Chee series is among the most acclaimed in mystery audio, and his reading of Coyote Waits demonstrates why. He voices the Southwest landscape as much as the characters, pacing the novel's careful investigative rhythms with a patience that honors Hillerman's literary intentions. At under seven hours, this entry is shorter than some in the series but no less atmospheric.