[Talking God] [By: Tony Hillerman] [January, 2010]

Joe Leaphorn is investigating the identity of a murder victim found near the Smithsonian when Jim Chee is sent to arrest Smithsonian conservator Henry Highhawk, who has been ransacking the museum's collection of sacred Native American bones to return them to their people. The two cases are seemingly unrelated until the layers peel back to reveal a convergence involving ancient ceremony, living gods, and people who want both Leaphorn and Chee to stop asking questions. Tony Hillerman's ninth Leaphorn and Chee novel brings the series to Washington D.C. while maintaining the Navajo perspective that grounds the entire series.

Christian Baskous narrates with the calm authority that Hillerman's procedural style requires, keeping the novel's dual investigation organized and its cultural detail respectful. The Smithsonian setting provides an unusual contrast to the Southwest locations that define most of the series, and the collision between institutional power and Native traditions gives the novel its particular tension. At just over eight hours, this is a strong mid-series entry.