For a guy who makes his living with words, John Cotton is pretty canny about staying alive. The most interesting thing about this novel is the tension between two idea: one, that the general public deserves the unbiased facts and two, that the ends justify the means - you can't rely on the public to make the right choice. In the current political climate, it certainly appears that the news media has chosen in favor of the second idea. And I find myself coming down in favor of the first. The ends don't justify the means for me. ( )

Anachronistic: Tony Hillerman's The Fly on the Wall has not aged particularly well. Written in 1971, early in his career, the book has been bypassed by technological advances as well as Hillerman's success with the Leaphorn/Chee series. Knowing that no future tales of John Cotton, newspaperman, have been written made getting into the book a little more difficult than I expected.

The characters and setting don't fit well with what one has come to think of as a "Tony Hillerman" book - that combination of Native Americans, their folklore, and the Southwest. To a man (and a woman), the characters are all extremely liberal in their political viewpoint. If you're convinced there's a liberal bias in the mainstream press, this novel will do nothing to disabuse you of that notion. Even if you do subscribe to the dominant point of view, you may be disappointed by some of the things liberalism's used to excuse in the final chapter. Perhaps the book's greatest weakness is the lack of alternate viewpoints explored: there are no real Republican characters either as foils or villains and this makes for some uninspired conflict and ultimately an unsatisfying resolution.

Part way through the book I found myself wishing Cotton would get himself out of a jam by making a cellphone call, or fax or e-mail his stories in to his editor, then I remembered - 1971! None of those things existed. Teletype machines and direct-dial long distance were the high tech of the day; even though photocopiers existed, Cotton still uses carbon paper throughout the story to make duplicates of his stories written on a manual typewriter. If you're nostalgic for these things, then you'll probably get more out of the story than I did.

The Southwest makes a brief appearance in the middle of the book when Cotton tries to find sanctuary there. While not quite as picturesque as in the Leaphorn/Chee books, this brief respite in New Mexico marks the point where the novel really picks up steam. Here and in Cotton's escape from the vacant Capitol building near the end of the novel are the two parts where Hillerman's pacing and plotting really shine. Compared to these fast-paced action scenes, the talky final chapter and the lengthy set-up in the first half of the book are big disappointments.

The Fly on the Wall isn't a terrible book, but it's clearly not Hillerman's best. If you're caught up on the latest Navajo novels, go ahead and tackle this one, but there's really no reason to go out of your way for it.

Convoluted suspense tale. Sufficiently murky and danger-laden, albeit confusing. ( )

This is Hillerman's 2nd novel & the only one that doesn't take place where all the others take place. The plot involves a reporter having to deal with a big story involving state government corruption. There are murders & escapes, and also a lot of worrying because the scandal will tarnish a good governor getting ready to fight a bad man for a senate seat. It is readable but dragged a bit.

A non-Navajo story, but a good mystery with a good twist. ( )