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Sacred Clowns by Tony Hillerman
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Sacred Clowns (original 1993; edition 1993)

by Tony Hillerman

Series: Leaphorn/Chee (11)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
2,058247,811 (3.7)58
Fiction. Literature. Mystery. HTML:

Don't miss the TV series, Dark Winds, based on the Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito novels, now on AMC and AMC+!

First there was the trouble at Saint Boneventure boarding school. A teacher is dead, a boy is missing, and a council woman has put a lot of pressure on Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee to find her grandson. Sitting on a rooftop watching sacred clowns perform their antics in a Pueblo ceremony, Chee spots the boy. Then, suddenly, the crowd is in commotion. One of the clowns has been savagely murdered. Without a single clue, Chee and Leaphorn must follow a serpentine trail through the Indian clans and nations, seeking the thread that links two brutal murders, a missing teenager, a band of lobbyists trying to put a toxic dump site on Pueblo land, and an invaluable memento given to the tribes by Abraham Lincoln in a fast-paced, flawless mystery that is Hillerman at his lyrical, evocative, spellbinding best.

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Member:Littlemissbashful
Title:Sacred Clowns
Authors:Tony Hillerman
Info:Harper Collins (1993), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 320 pages
Collections:Your library, Books, Crime Fiction
Rating:****
Tags:Bk 11, Crime Fiction, Leaphorn and Chee, Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, Books, Fiction - USA, Fiction - American Indians, Fiction - Navajo indians, Fiction - Four Corners, Fiction - Arizona, Fiction - New Mexico, Fiction - Hopi indians, Fiction - Pueblo indians

Work Information

Sacred Clowns by Tony Hillerman (1993)

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English (23)  French (1)  All languages (24)
Showing 1-5 of 23 (next | show all)
Sacred Clowns is Tony Hillerman at his very best. Both Leaphorn and Chee are at a personal crossroad in their lives while attempting to solve two crimes which may or may not be related. A complex mystery is interwoven with the care befitting a sacred blanket as we learn about the Navajo and their beliefs.

That crossroad for both men is fully explored during this one, each man's loneliness and their individual efforts to end it, poignantly painted by Hillerman in a mystery as good as any he ever penned. Those who relish the way he educates the reader about Native American beliefs while entertaining us with a good mystery will not be disappointed. Perhaps more than any of his novels, Sacred Clowns gives us a better understanding of why the Navajo have survived, while so many other great tribes have all but disappeared.

Chee's new assignment working directly for Leaphorn gets off to a shaky start when the former allows a missing boy to escape during a Tano ceremony soon after locating him. It is the boy's elusive nature, and a murder during the ceremony that kick off one of the most satisfying mysteries in this fabulous series. Leaphorn is still trying to move on after a terrible loss, and Chee is worried Janet may have a tie to his clan somewhere which would put an end to their romance.

On the mystery side, a second murder turns this story into a complex puzzle which has Leaphorn and Chee going in different directions. Chee's carelessness at one point will even result in Leaphorn's suspension. Leaphorn's feelings regarding young Chee's conflicting spirit, torn between Navajo tradition and his career as a Navajo Tribal Policeman, are explored here as well.

Chee will eventually weigh Navajo justice against the secular law he is sworn to uphold, and come to a startling decision. There is need and loneliness here for both men, Chee trying to begin, and Leaphorn attempting to start over. There is a depth and understanding mingling effortlessly in Sacred Clowns, a mystery engrossing enough to be of merit on its own.

We've come to expect a lot of Hillerman's series, and this one really delivers. That magic blend of mystery and Native American beliefs, coupled with likable and very human characters is on glorious display in this one. The mystery is excellent, and you will come away from this one with a greater understanding of the Navajo and, perhaps, humanity. Highly recommended. ( )
  Matt_Ransom | Oct 6, 2023 |
This early entry into the Leaphorn & Chee series is a major disappointment. It's extremely slow-paced, and through most of the book, it seems that no one has a clue how (or if) two murders are related. Both men are involved in trying to establish tenuous new romantic relationships while also figuring out how to work together. There are lots of meaningful silences and long periods of introspection.

Definitely not the best of the series. ( )
  LyndaInOregon | Mar 4, 2023 |
Great read, classic Hillerman, terrible picture of a Sacred Clown on the cover. ( )
  danhammang | May 16, 2022 |
Sacred Clowns is an excellent Leaphorn and Chee suspense novel. It takes place in the desolate New Mexico Indian reservations. There is a lot of culture and humor involved with the characters. Tony Hillerman knows how to write an excellent story and Christian Baskous knows how to read it. This book received four stars in this review and is highly recommended. Enjoy. ( )
  lbswiener | Dec 16, 2021 |
This is a re-read for me and still one of the best Hillerman's. I am fully engaged by the novel's balance of suspense, action, and mystery embedded in tribal customs. An irritating flaw in the plot for me is the angst that Chee has in his interactions with Janet Pete. I find that relationship which persists through several of the novels utterly tedious. As ever, the author seems intimately connected to the land and the people of the American southwest. ( )
  SandyAMcPherson | Jan 25, 2019 |
Showing 1-5 of 23 (next | show all)
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This book is dedicated to Fr. Doug McNeill, director of Saint Bonaventure Indian Mission, Thoreau, NM 87323, and to the volunteers who donate part of their lives to run its classrooms, kitchen, school buses, and water trucks. They come from all parts of the country, from different generations and different religions, united only in the desire to help their fellow humans.
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At first, Officer Jim Chee had felt foolish sitting on the roof of the house of some total stranger.
At first, officer Jim Chee had felt foolish sitting on the roof of the house of some total stranger.
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Hmmm...
this ISBN seems to be tied to both Sacred Clowns and Ghostway. Might need to check on that.
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Fiction. Literature. Mystery. HTML:

Don't miss the TV series, Dark Winds, based on the Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito novels, now on AMC and AMC+!

First there was the trouble at Saint Boneventure boarding school. A teacher is dead, a boy is missing, and a council woman has put a lot of pressure on Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee to find her grandson. Sitting on a rooftop watching sacred clowns perform their antics in a Pueblo ceremony, Chee spots the boy. Then, suddenly, the crowd is in commotion. One of the clowns has been savagely murdered. Without a single clue, Chee and Leaphorn must follow a serpentine trail through the Indian clans and nations, seeking the thread that links two brutal murders, a missing teenager, a band of lobbyists trying to put a toxic dump site on Pueblo land, and an invaluable memento given to the tribes by Abraham Lincoln in a fast-paced, flawless mystery that is Hillerman at his lyrical, evocative, spellbinding best.

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