Ancient Blood: A Navajo Nation Mystery

This series crept up on me rather unexpectedly. About midway through the first book I discovered I really liked most of the characters. Charlie is especially engaging and becomes more so as the series progresses. Having very little personal contact with Southwestern culture, white or tribal, I don’t know how accurate the picture is that Mr Chappell draws. I do know that I have enjoyed the books and intend to read more.

I am a fan of Hillerman and now a fan of Chappell!The narrative and historical context make for wonderful reading.

Great 👍🏼 reading!

Professor George Armstrong Custer is trying hard to overcome his desire to drink while carrying on an important archaeological study of the ancient Anasazi pueblos located in the Four Corners area. It is his hope to find some answers concerning the sudden disappearance of these ancient peoples.There are those; however, who do not wish for the disturbance of these ruins to continue and are determined to prevent the studies from taking place. Vandalism is prevalent. There are gunshots fired upon the site. There is a cave-in of a wall that falls upon one of the team. A rattlesnake bite later sends her to the hospital in serious condition. More than one of the members of the archaeological team become suspect as the professor tries to persevere to meet his goal. The work continues as the danger increases.Charlie Yazzie, the Navajo legal services investigator, Thomas Begay, his old sidekick....and friend, and Charley Ponyboy, an employee of the professor, team together to help the professor. Is this the work of a group of dissidents or could it be a Navajo chindi at work?There is a bit of Navajo folklore, a bit of Anasazi history and a fair amount of unnecessary events that are entertaining but have nothing to do with the plot.This is an interesting story, like many other books, that is written in the Tony Hillerman style. It is; however, not quite up to par with the writings of Hillerman. The storyline is a bit clumsy at times, but the characters are fun and the story is believable. The writing was somewhat simplistic and could have been a bit more mysterious and suspenseful.I enjoyed this book because of the setting and the theme, but I found the grammar misuse and lack of punctuation or errors scattered throughout a bit distracting.

A truly beautiful book. I have always enjoyed reading about other cultures and their beliefs. The author has been able to represent the Navajo people as they are, not how people believe them to be. I admire his ability to represent them as real individuals not glorifying them as something that they are not. He has made them seem real. The good, bad and ugly among them. He has brought these people to life and told their story as if he had been present when these stories took place. I realize that a great deal of research went into these stories, and it shows. He has incorporated a great deal of his research and thought into this book. The author is to be commended for his thoughtful telling of these great peoples heritage, and beliefs.

His first book was promising, setting up the characters and environment. He always provides lots of information to the point of being non fiction. But this book is boring and flat because he is telling you about the story. It reads like a book report or a synopsis for Cliffs notes. Nothing comes alive or feels real. It reads like a proposal for a book not the actual experience of being in the story. If you’re a Hillerman fan, reread those instead. I forced myself to the end, ever hopeful things would energize but it never happened.

This book hd a great story line. Reading the previous books in the series was a huge help with the characters. I think without that you would go "huh?" a lot due to a lack of history that is referred to.There were some editing issus that drove me nuts. I am a slow dyslexic reader, so I don't like fighting that to get through a story.I'm sure if you are reading this you have already got the basic story line from all of the good reviewers that spell out the story line. I enjoy the character development that Cambell uses. He is good at it. Be prepared in this book if you are a speed reader to slow down when the Navahos are talking. He writes the language like he hears it being spoken. That slowed me down and made me wonder if some of it is editing or he was trying to bring me into their character of speach.I stick to my previous statement in an earlier review that Chapell is not Tony Hillarman. But that's OK because after reading several of the stories I honestly don't think he is trying to be.Same setting different stories and a very different "feel" to his books.I feel that I get left down by the ending in many of the boos I read. "OK so now that you are done good bye." This one ran the edge. I think we as readers are due a little more "after all the stuff is done" that a couple of pages of epiloge is warranted. Chappell kind of does this, but this one could have used some more.But, the book kept my interest and I enjoyed the read. And I guess that's what it's really all about.

Good story. Really appreciate the history and context. However misspelling and awkward grammatical choices make full engagement difficult. Short read.

I enjoy these mystery books so much that involve Natives of America, especially Navajo, Pueblo and those of the South West, as that is one of my favourite places in the world to be. The writing takes right there and I feel part of the story and places involved. Not to mention how much I enjoy reading about the peoples of that land, their history, mythology, and their lives in general where all is woven around a good story.

Enjoyed this book and am now reading more written by R Allen Chappell. I love the insight it gives into the traditions and ongoing links to the past

very good book

As Advertised

A good read