The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman 3 stars (Pursue it)

[Rachel N.]

Joe Leaphorn is investigating the death of a young man found suffocated by sand. Professor Bergen McKee is friends with Leaphorn and is in the area collecting Navajo witchcraft stories while a fellow professor investigates the Anasazi ruins in the area. Leaphorn's case soon becomes connected to McKee's research. The book is told from the POV of both Leaphorn and McKee but McKee gets more time which is interesting because the series goes on to feature Leaphorn. The book was a bit slow to start off. I thought the information about the Navajo culture was very interesting though sometimes not well integrated into the main story. I was annoyed that the one female character who has any significance to the plot is mostly a wimp who McKee is attracted too solely because she is pretty. I've heard the series improves later on so I'll definitely read the second book.

[Robin P]

Yes, I think the series gets more interesting as it goes on. In the early books, Leaphorn is more of an action hero. Then it jumps ahead to where he is around retirement age and he can't just rely on brute strength. The later stories also feature Jim Chee who is younger but also more traditional. I liked Skinwalkers and A Thief of Time a lot. Hillerman's daughter took over the series and featured a woman cop more.