The Sinister Pig

Leaphorn & Chee #16

by Tony Hillerman

Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police is troubled by the nameless corpse discovered just inside his jurisdiction, at the edge of the Jicarilla Apache natural gas field. More troubling still is the FBI's insistence that the Bureau take over the case, calling the unidentified victim's death a "hunting accident."

But if a hunter were involved, Chee knows the prey was intentionally human. This belief is shared by the "Legendary Lieutenant" Joe Leaphorn, who once again is pulled out of retirement by the possibility of serious wrongs being committed against the Navajo nation by the Washington bureaucracy. Yet it is former policewoman Bernadette Manuelito, recently relocated to Customs Patrol at the U.S. -- Mexico border, who possibly holds the key to a fiendishly twisted conspiracy of greed, lies, and murder -- and whose only hope for survival now rests in the hands of friends too far away for comfort.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Native American, Crime, Westerns, Mystery Thriller, Thriller

318 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2003

About the author

Tony Hillerman, who was born in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma, was a decorated combat veteran from World War II, serving as a mortarman in the 103rd Infantry Division and earning the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart. Later, he worked as a journalist from 1948 to 1962. Then he earned a Masters degree and taught journalism from 1966 to 1987 at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where he resided with his wife until his death in 2008. Hillerman, a consistently bestselling author, was ranked as New Mexico's 25th wealthiest man in 1996. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Sinister Pig is one of the funniest book titles I have ever heard. As it's my custom to carry my current novel everywhere with me, I got some strange looks.


This is a very frustrating entry for two reasons:

1.) The mystery, involving an oil pipeline - is very boring and spurs the characters on to long, jargon-filled paragraphs of explanation.

Although I did like side characters such as Cabeza de Baca and Chrissy. And the bad guy was appropriately evil.

2.) Jim Chee and Bernie Manuelito love each other and are too chickenshit to talk to each other about how they feel.

"Honey, time to get smart. That man hurt your feelings. But he really likes you."

"Oh, yeah," Bernie said. "He also likes stray cats, and retarded kids, and..."

After quitting the police force in the last novel, Bernie has taken a job with Border Patrol / Customs. I'm just very confused. I thought that she quit the police because it was "too dangerous." Well, border-patrol is also dangerous and as a extra minus, she's going to be arresting poor, dehydrated Mexicans looking for better jobs instead of actual bad people. This makes her feel like shit.

ANYWAY. Jim Chee is missing her like crazy and she is missing Jim like crazy but they are both too cowardly to say anything.

Bernie had said: "Would you believe I really miss you, Jim. Imagine! Missing your boss." And he knew that polite pause between the 'Jim' and the 'Imagine' was there to give him time to say: "Bernie, I miss you too." He'd wasted it by trying to think of exactly the right way to say it. Something to let Bernie know that he woke up every morning thinking about her, and how empty life seemed with her out of it.

When hardworking and by-the-book Bernie follows a Mexican truck into a private compound, she discovers something that lands her in some very hot water. Can Leaphorn and Chee come to her rescue before she gets burned? And can Chee grow some balls or can Bernie grow some ovaries and finally TELL THEIR LOVE that they love them and want to be together!?!?!?!?!?


You'll have to read the book to find out. But you will be very frustrated while reading it! I was screaming at the characters. "Just tell him/her how you FEEL!!!!!" I was shouting. "For heaven's sake! Out with it!!!!"

Tl; dr - Highly frustrating for many reasons.

P.S. No new news on the Louisa/Leaphorn front. It seems they have reached a stalemate and are never moving forward.

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I am missing my time in New Mexico, I turn to Tony Hillerman for one of my favorite series with Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. The Sinister Pig was a deeply intriguing adventure in this endearing series set in Navajo Nation and the Hopi Reservation in the southwestern part of the United States by Tony Hillerman. The body of a well-dressed gentleman with all identification missing, is found hidden under the brush on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation. The local FBI takes over from the Navajo Police Sergenant Jim Chee, and the case is quickly spirited away to Washington, D.C. There are a lot of compelling characters as the mystery unfolds. And of course, now we have the love interest of Bernadette Manuelito with Sergeant Jim Chee as she begins her new position as a U.S. Customs Patrol Officer in the boot heel of New Mexico. It is here that she stumbles upon the Tuttle Ranch taking photographs of the exotic wildlife and an apparent construction project underway. Sharing this information with her supervisor, her life becomes in jeopardy. A friend of Bernie calls Joe Leaphorn because she is alarmed by the danger she perceives Bernie Manuelito to be. And of course, retired Joe Leaphorn turns to his love of maps and timelines to determine that the Tuttle Ranch is on BLM lands, thus involving Hopi Dashee recruited by Sergeant Chee to the Tuttle Ranch as they fear that Bernie’s life is in danger. A lot of delightful conversations ensue between these friends about what constitutes love. I found that the backstory of the owner of the Tuttle Ranch and his pilot and confidante was riveting. This was one of the best in the series that I have read, leaving me anxious to continue with the next book. And you must read the book to understand the title The Sinister Pig.

[Roberta Marro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, hard to believe that we will get no more of Tony Hillerman's wonderful books. I thought this was one of his best--full of double meanings, teaching my about oil pipelines and the uses to which they could be put. I used to love to listen to Hillerman's books when traveling through New Mexico because he brought that country and the native american people who live there to life so beautifully, while weaving in a mystery that caught you up in the story. Easy reading, but more complex than they appear on the surface.

[carol. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overly complex. Felt like an attempt to update the series and infusing with Mexican border issues, Senate committees and drugs. Not nearly enough landscape. An attempt at multiple perspectives again, which was used to create tension and move the plot forward, since solving the murder wasn't possible after the FBI took over. Temporary physical estrangement between Chee and Bernie. Not one of Hillerman's better books.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this book out from the library because it is partly the basis for the current season of Dark Winds that I have been watching and enjoying on AMC. I have only read a handful of this great series but the more I read, the more I want to continue with them. The Sinister Pig was another good one in the Leaphorn and Chee series which takes place in the Navajo Nation in the American Southwest. This is a later book in the series: Leaphorn is retired, Jim Chee is a sergeant with the Navaho Tribal Police and Bernadette Manuelito has moved on to a position with the Border Patrol in the boot heel of New Mexico. The novel starts out with the murder of a well-dressed man who was found partly buried in a remote area of the Apache Reservation. Chee is put on the case but it soon gets taken over by the FBI. Meanwhile, in southern New Mexico, Manuelito stumbles upon some construction at the Tuttle ranch when she follows a truck and trailer that could have been carrying illegals. She takes some photos of the operation which raises some eyebrows by the ranch owner and her boss at the Border Patrol. So what has she stumbled onto and how is it related to the murder of the man 200 miles north of there? Turns out her life is in danger and because her friend and roommate is alarmed she calls Leaphorn to see what he thinks. Leaphorn uses his skills and love of old maps to come to a reason for what may be happening at the ranch. But will it be in time to save Bernie?

This one had some really well-developed characters including the owner of the Tuttle Ranch and his pilot who seemed to have a hidden agenda. Chee is also showing his feelings for Bernie and hopes to convince her to give up her Border Patrol job. And of course Leaphorn is the backbone of the story. I really enjoyed this one and even though it was a basis for part of the Dark Winds series, it was altered quite a bit for TV. I'm sure I'll be reading more of these.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one and the light bulb FINALLY goes on for Chee. I was beginning to give up hope. If he doesn't follow thru this time I might have to go find Budge and hire him to put Chee out of his misery. The cluster you know what at the Tuttle ranch was a hoot :)

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent adventure from beginning to end ... why not 5***** ? ... some plot aspects were too predictable and the ending seemed rushed ... still a great read and I will look for more Hillerman, who I hadn't read in at least 15 years

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Hillerman’s books for the feeling of the reservation. He really has an ear for the speech, an eye for the land and an understanding of how people live and how time moves. I’ve read most of Hillerman’s books now, and this has the least “reservation” feel of the ones I’ve read, and the least to recommend it. The plot includes rich, connected men involved in drug deals and perhaps more, and much of the action takes place away from the reservation. There is lots of discussion of things like gas pipelines, government corruption, Border Patrol procedures, flying to Mexico, etc. – topics that aren’t your normal Hillerman topics, at least not to the extent they are here. While detective Leaphorn is involved in this, he is window-dressing here, a bit like a visit to Mycroft Holmes. And Chee’s included as well, but you don’t get the normal Hillerman style. The location, while physically having a great bearing on the story, isn’t written as impactful as Hillerman normally does. Overall, the fact that these are American Indian characters is mentioned quite often, but it doesn’t have much bearing on the case, and that’s makes this a very generic mystery book. The book appears to me to be more of a bridge to further the romance with Chee and Manuelito, and for that it succeeds.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was aptly titled as the bad guys in this story were really sinister pigs. Of course the title means something completely different, but crooked politicians, big businesses and drug dealers all fall into that 'pig' category as far as I'm concerned.

The story was pretty good, even though it took place quite a ways away from the usual Chee and Leaphorn stomping grounds. Still, the author gave a wonderful sense of place. Some of the characters were neither good or bad but fell into that gray area, leaving the reader to decide whether they sympathized with them or not. And the story was a very good and well-thought out one too.

Plus, we get a little more progress in Chee's personal life to boot! Recommend.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Navajo mystery novel. This one gets into Washington politics and explores how egomaniacs come to control the nation. It makes very clear how the "War on Drugs" only benefits the drug czars. As fiction, there is a black and white difference between the good guys and the bad guys, but I think that there is a lot of truth to the way the system functions. He also made me aware of how natural gas and oil are being somehow siphoned away from Navajo land without paying the legally required royalties. It's easy reading, and at the same time enlightening.

[Margaret Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man hands an envelope to another man across a table---So begins The Sinister Pig (2003) by the late Tony Hillerman, famed mystery writer of the Southwest. The beginning is very simple–a man hands an envelope across the table of a small cafe. The setting is Navajo Country but it could be anywhere, anytime. How mundane. How ordinary. How easy to read. This vintage Tony Hillerman beginning fascinates me–it’s deceptively simple. By the end of the first page, we are in the midst of a high-level corruption and mysterious intrigue.

How apt, how perfectly Tony Hillerman’s titles reflect the themes too–By page 9 of Sinister Pig we learn that the term comes from ��porc sinistre”, a French phrase for “the boss pig in the sty–the one that would guard the trough and attack any animal that tried to steal a bite.” So how does the title fit in? The man who takes the envelope is someone Slate plans to hire, an ex-CIA agent whose job will be to sniff out who is syphoning oil from a pipeline system, thereby bypassing paying the $40 billion dollars in royalty money into the Interior Department’ trust fund for the Indians.

Ahh, now we know what’s in the trough and who profits by it–the federal government and those underlings who work it. We also know who doesn’t profit–another telling Hillerman theme–Native American history. Not to mention his knack for describing the big picture and the lay of contemporary United States of America where power (and crime) reside with the wealthy and their dishonest corporation underlings, and where the “War on Drugs” means war on its victims and “Protecting the Border” means hoarding the trough of addiction.

The envelope the man hands across the table is full of papers documenting a forged identity for the soon-to-be ex-CIA agent. We only know him by his assumed name. But don’t worry, we needn’t remember it because, even with his past experience and the fifty thousand Slate transferred to a forged bank account to bankroll him, it isn’t enough to prevent this agent from being murdered by the end of the first chapter. Which brings me to another characteristic of Tony Hillerman–murder is executed in the blink of an eye, a turn of the sentence, almost a bloodless and ghostly affair.

Now let’s look at his characters. They’re all familiar to us–Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police, the retired “legendary lieutenant” Joe Leaphorn, and Chee’s down-in-the mouth girlfriend, Bernadette Manuelito, who has recently taken a job as a Customs Control Officer, posted on the Border to Mexico just to get away from Chee. Hillerman’s characters are like family–quirky, stubborn, true-to-life, and long-suffering. Mostly they’re downright sympathetic. After all, we know them well and we’re rooting for them. We believe he is rooting for them too.

In an organic way, The Sinister Pig promotes Native American values through the characters and also through the action; but how many of us know what these values are? The climax of my novel Sundagger.net happens during a vision quest in New Mexico, but I myself didn’t really understand how Native American tribes of the Southwest would view a vision quest ceremony until Tony Hillerman advised me in his letters.

Then there are all those other Tony Hillerman themes: his sonorous desert landscapes, the technical specifics of industries such as natural gas and oil, all those pipelines, and his stylistic brilliance in using metaphor, understatement and cryptic dialogue to further an increasingly complex plot. We can talk about this in The Sinister Pig and other Hillerman novels.

The anniversary of his death is coming up this month. Let’s all enjoy and commemorate Tony Hillerman together.

[Leiah Cooper · Rating 1 out of 5]

I normally enjoy Mr. Hillerman's works, and have a collection I like to return to over and over. This one, sadly, went straight into the box to go to the used book store. The editing was so horrible as to be a joke. It makes one wonder if his writing has always been this bad, and some UberEditor has been working magic for all these years, or if he was just under a huge rush to meet contractual obligations and couldn't be bothered to actually write a decent book.

It is also disappointing in that the story could have been exceptional, given a bit of care. This is an important issue to all the tribes, but should be just as important as a history lesson to all Americans as an indicator of just how corrupt the American government was in the past, and remains today.

Next time, I will take a little trip to the library before I automatically add the next Hillerman novel to my collection.

[Harry Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story, as one expects from a master like Hillerman. The environment was much less a factor in this story than others in the series, but the plot is artful, characters interesting and the action non-stop. Chee is out of his depth and knows it, pursuing answers even though the feds have taken over and are now claiming there is no case. He is also lovelorn with few prospects of resolving that situation either. He calls for help from a number of sources in his search for information, and what looks like chicanery with the royalties due the tribes for oil, gas and mineral extraction turns into something quite different. All leading up to a most satisfactory resolution.

[Pop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but not as good as the others in the series. One more, the last I believe in the Chee and Leaphorn series and I will be sad it’s Mr Hillerman’s last.

[Jay Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pig is a device for cleaning and repairing pipelines. In the present case, a former CIA agent is hired to look into the situation where natural gas has been diverted from being credited to the Navajo’s account elsewhere. He stumbles into something completely different as he is murdered. Bernie, Sgt. Chee’s love interest has joined the Immigration Services and is working near the border. The drug trade is heavy and she is targeted for elimination. Sgt. Chee’s murder case is connected to Bernie’s case. Lt. Leaphorn figures it out. It is an interesting mystery.

[Carl Alves · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel starts off with Navajo Tribal Police sergeant Jim Chee finding a corpse in tribal lands near a natural gas field. The FBI is trying to take over the case, saying that it was a hunting accident. Joining Chee on the case is the familiar characters of Joe Leaphorn and Bernadette Manuelito. Conspiracies abound, and not surprisingly, the US government aren’t necessarily the good guys.

This is a solid novel, perhaps a little better than some other Hillerman novels I have read. The plot is logical, the writing professional. The downfall is that nothing really stands out about this novel. It’s not the sort of novel that you’ll remember long after you read it. It’s descent enough to pass the time and is a solid read, but not particularly memorable.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

2025: revisited on audio & so fun to see Bernie get a leading role
2022: I'd forgotten that Bernie Manuelito becomes a major character in this novel. She's big in the Anne Hillerman books & is growing in importance in Tony's series. Here she gets a major role as she leaves the Navajo Tribal Police for a job as a Customs Patrol Officer to get away from her feelings about Sgt. Chee. She stumbles on a major drug operation that is strangely tied to a case in Chee's area. It takes the venerable Joe Leaphorn to tie it all together & get it solved.

2012: Exciting tale of Mexican drug lords, Border Patrol officers, arrogant Washington lawyers, and CIA operatives. Good story with Chee and Leaphorn.

[Lynn Pribus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I missed this one along the way somehow. I've read both earlier and later ones in the series. It fortuitously showed up in the book swap basket at the gym just before I was going to Chicago for Thanksgiving. A paperback with biggish print which is always nice on a flight.

Bernie has left the rez to work for the Border Patrol Customs Service and Jim is longing for her....

Involves natural gas thefts from the Indian Nations and pipelines and such. A bit different, but still enough Native American lore and a guest appearance by Hopi Cowboy Dashee.

Reread in 2023. Five years is long enough to have forgotten much of the plot. Audiobook this time.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate how the title always ends up being explained during the course of the Hillerman books. In this case it has two different meanings that are nonetheless related. Greed and corruption are unfortunately something that our nation has had to struggle with throughout our history but is especially the case at the present. Although used as a theme for this fictional book, it unfortunately is based on actual fact. Native Americans have always been subjected to mistreatment at the hands of our government. You would hope that things would have improved over time, but the methods of abuse are as difficult to detect and destroy as skinwalkers. Evil is persistent.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather mediocre entry in the Navajo Police Hillerman series. The major characters in the series are regulated to almost supporting roles in order to tell a tale centering on political corruption, drug dealing, and embezzlement involving a very rich man, some former CIA operatives and a government sponsored killer with a heart of gold. A couple of tense moments but this is mostly a story used as a crutch to advance the romantic storyline of Navajo officer Jim Chee and Officer Bernie Manuelito.

[Maurice · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sinister pig refers to a being who has eaten his fill but doesn't allow others to eat too. Sound like any Republicans you know? I'm rather late coming to Hillerman's mysteries. I find them adequate as a quick read.

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because the title made me laugh.
It wasn't good or bad, simply ok.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is me revisiting some of my favorite mystery series. . . .I've read all of Hillerman's books 2 or 3 times, so this is my 4th round. . .

And of course I love this one, because Bernie Manuelito saves the day! It takes a girl to see what everyone else (read: boys) doesn't.

[Pamela Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually enjoy this series, but this book seemed rushed all the way through. The ending was like BAM and there you have it, hence 3 stars instead of the usual 4 or 5. Not that anyone cares...

[Ben Siems · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have been following my reviews, then you know that my current reading journey involves working my way through a stack of mystery/thriller novels that my father gave me as gifts over the years. You also know that I am not nearly the fan of the genre that he was (hence the stack of previously unread books), but this project is part of my larger journey of accepting and processing his sudden death in late 2019.

And so we come to my first encounter with the vaunted Tony Hillerman. The back cover of The Sinister Pig quotes a San Diego Union-Tribune review of the book: "Hillerman blends a clever puzzle, a satisfying romance, and the exotic Navajo culture into a highly suspenseful and thoroughly entertaining whole." To which I say, uh, no, no, no, no, and ... no.

My main objection to "genre fiction" has always been that for no good reason, writers of mystery and/or suspense novels are given a free pass to write unrealistic dialogue, populate their tales with poorly developed characters, and use constantly shifting points of view as a cheap substitute for genuine subtleties of plot. It particularly bugs me that authors like Hillerman receive an honor called the Edgar Award. Poe never used the cheats that present-day "genre fiction" writers are allowed, and given his penchant for ruthless literary criticism, it's hard to imagine that he would view books like The Sinister Pig with anything but disdain.

Okay, enough ranting, on to the brass tacks. A clever puzzle? Not really. A clever overall plot idea? Sure, that I am willing to concede. It had real potential, if brought to life through the development of believable, three-dimensional characters. Sadly, there were few of those to be found, and I might be over counting at that. One thing I genuinely do like is that a character presented in such a way as to suggest he will be central to the story turns out to be just some dude who wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time. That twist alone elevated the book from two stars to three in my estimation. Yet it was far from enough to make the whole a legitimately worthwhile read.

A satisfying romance? Ugh, not even close. Perhaps you will find it satisfying if you are a chauvinist who delights in women chucking away their careers, their independence, and their agency just to fall into the arms of an underdeveloped pseudo-hero who promises that he will take her home where she won't have to face the big, scary world anymore. And if you are, allow me to admit that your satisfaction in life is not a priority of mine.

As for "the exotic Navajo culture," well, that entire phrase is just so white that I don't think it merits further comment.

In short, within the confines of the genre, this is arguably a decent book, but that is precisely why I do not care for the confines of the genre.

All of which leaves only the question of why tears streaked down my cheeks more than once as I read the book. The answer lies entirely in the book's setting — primarily New Mexico and Arizona, including many towns where I have spent time, and roads I know intimately. My father understood deeply how much I love those landscapes, and what a pivotal role they have played in my life. In the end, for me, this somewhat lackluster bit of mystery writing became a potent reminder of just how much the intention behind a gift matters. That lesson is worth a million stars.

Thank you, Dad, for caring so much.

[Jesse Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a man with a fake ID is found murdered on the Navajo reservation people immediately think he was investigating the oil pipelines. When Jim Chee starts looking into it he finds out drug smugglers and politicians are involved and Bernadette Manuelito, now working as a Border Control Agent is right in the middle of a big cover-up.

Tony Hillerman has a decidedly readable style. I especially like his way of making each character feel like an old friend. As soon as Chee shows up I know just what he’s going to say and I’ve only read three our four of his books and most of those more than ten years ago.

There is a peaceful joviality to them that is missing in much modern fiction. They are competent people who also happen to be nice.

Hillerman wrote books for years – probably decades – and there is a peaceful kind of comfort to reading his books that feels much like sitting down in a very large, very soft chair after a long day.

[Smallllama · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a crummy book. Hillerman is a great author but this is a crummy book. Unconvincing motivations, unconvincing actions, unconvincing dialogue. Near the end, a police officer does something that a police officer wouldn't do because A) a police officer would know better B) a police officer would know that it was an ambush C) this particular police officer has always been portrayed as smart and capable in previous books D) the action is clearly illegal and the police officer has no motive. You should read books 2 - 14 of the Leaphorn and Chee series. Many of them are great and the rest are good. You will be happier if you stop before reading "The Wailing Wind" but, if you love Hillerman as much as I do, you might find yourself unable to resist. You should definitely not read The Sinister Pig.

[Ethan Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sinister Pig is a typically exciting and enjoyable installment in the late Tony Hillerman's series of mystery novels set among the Navajo and Hopi of the desert Southwest. I've been reading them out of sequence, which is a little unfortunate if you want to remain surprised by developments in the personal lives of Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Sergeant Jim Chee, and The Sinister Pig (2003) is a relatively late installment, so consider reading earlier Hillermans first. But each Hillerman novel can be read as a stand-alone, and this one is especially good (but aren't they all?), with a dash of post-9/11 international drama, plus gratifying and charming developments in Jim Chee's complicated love life.

[John Yingling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim Chee, Joe Leaphorn, Bernadette Manuelito,and Cowboy Dashee are among my favorite characters in all literature. And I have a deep respect for the Navajo people and their traditions. Someday I want to visit the parts of New Mexico and Arizona in which these characters live and work. All this is because of the first-rate storytelling and writing talents of Tony Hillerman. The Sinister Pig is a prime example of all I have mentioned. Frankly, I love this series. I was very saddened by the passing of Mr. Hillerman, but have pleased to see that his daughter Anne has continued the series. One further note: if you enjoy listening to books on CD, I highly recommend the titles in the Jim Chee/Joe Leaphorn series read by George Guidall.

[Jennifer Mangler · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this one. Bernie should have been the main character, but instead we spend way too much time in the minds of the "bad guys," so much so that she gets shunted off to the side. There's no mystery in this one because we see the situation through their eyes. I'd rather see Leaphorn, Chee, and/or Manuelito (in any combination) investigate and discover what was going on. There just wasn't enough of that in this book.