The Sinister Pig

Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police pulls a body from near a natural gas field on the edge of his jurisdiction, and the FBI's immediate insistence on taking over the case raises his suspicion that there is something larger at stake than a hunting accident. Former Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn comes out of retirement when he senses that the federal bureaucracy is being used to cover up wrongs being done to the Navajo nation, and former officer Bernadette Manuelito, now patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border, holds information that could break the case open. Tony Hillerman's sixteenth Leaphorn and Chee novel weaves three perspectives into a single conspiracy.

George Guidall narrates with the Southwest ease that has made him the defining voice of this series. His handling of the three parallel investigative threads gives each detective their distinct sensibility, and his reading of the desert landscape has a meditative quality that suits Hillerman's unhurried approach to mystery. At just under six hours, The Sinister Pig is a compact and satisfying entry.