Ill Wind: 10/08/13

Ill Wind by Nevada Barr is is the third Anna Pigeon mystery. This time Anna's been assigned to Mesa Verde in Colorado. Every Tuesday, it seems, someone needs rescuing for respiratory reasons from the Anasazi dwellings. And then, a boy dies and things go down hill from there.

Rumor gets around that a chindi (the evil that's left over by an unexpected death) want the National Park to close. When one of their own is killed, Anna decides to focus on solving his murder to keep herself from spiraling into depression fueled alcoholism.

The basic mystery — minus Anna's personal problems — is most like People of Darkness by Tony Hillerman. Having that one freshly in mind, I figured out the mystery long before Anna did. But I still enjoyed it for its location and the other characters.

My one complaint though, is the severe lack of a Navajo point of view even though some of the part time rangers are using their language and culture to explain away the trouble at the park. Granted, Mesa Verde doesn't sit within the bounds of Navajo Nation but it does border it. Except for a brief mention of Navajo tacos and a few jewelry vendors, they are oddly absent.

Hmph.

Four stars

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