The Sinister Pig – Tony Hillerman
I’ve read almost all of the books in Tony Hillerman’s Jim Chee – Joe Leaphorn series. But the last one I picked up before this was way back in 2000, when I read Hunting Badger (Book #14)!
The Sinister Pig (Book #16) has been sitting on my shelves unread for at least five years. One of my 2018 reading challenges was to read 25 books from my TBR shelves—especially books from series I haven’t visited in years—so choosing The Sinister Pig was a no-brainer.
In The Sinister Pig, former Navajo Tribal Police officer Bernadette Manuelito has left the Navajo Police and joined the Border Patrol. Jim Chee misses his former subordinate, but he’s busy investigating a nameless corpse found at the edge of the Jicarilla Apache natural gas field. His frustration grows when the FBI swoops in and takes control of the case.
Meanwhile, Bernie follows a suspicious trailer onto the Tuttle property, where mysterious construction is underway. She may have just made dangerous enemies—and uncovered a link between both cases involving an old abandoned pipeline. That’s the theory retired police legend Joe Leaphorn proposes.
Jim and Bernie each face big challenges: Jim is determined to prove a murder where the FBI claims there’s only a hunting accident, while Bernie is unknowingly up against the ruthless and greedy Rawley Windsor. Can Jim solve the case and save Bernie, or will help have to come from somewhere else? And will Jim and Bernie admit they miss each other and want to be together?
Bottom Line
While The Sinister Pig was an okay read, it didn’t feel like the Tony Hillerman I remember. One of the things I always enjoyed about his novels was how Navajo culture was woven into the story, and how Jim Chee struggled to balance his heritage with modern life. That element was largely missing here, making the book feel more like a standard crime novel rather than a special glimpse into a different culture.
That said, I’ve already downloaded The Wailing Wind (Book #15) from my library. I want to find out what happened to drive Jim and Bernie apart—and I’m hoping it will feel more like the Hillerman I remember.
EKK Rating: 3.0 | Goodreads Rating: 3.85
Post Update: According to both my memory and my Goodreads shelves, I haven’t read The Wailing Wind yet. The good news is I picked up a free copy—so maybe this time I’ll actually read it. And if the plot of The Sinister Pig sounds familiar, it’s because elements of it were used in Season Three of Dark Winds!
