Aimée Thurlo (1951–2014)

Excellent conclusion to the Copper Canyon series. This one is about Rick, the brother we've only heard about, as he has been away doing undercover work for the FBI. He's back home now, after he was injured on duty, leaving him with a scar that makes continuing undercover work impossible. When his homecoming party is interrupted by an explosion, he suspects that he was the target and is determined to find out who and why. Kim is the niece of the building's owner and the one who helped him get show more everyone to safety.

I really liked both Kim and Rick. Kim has been working two jobs to put herself through school, after which she plans to become a police officer. She remembers Rick from when they were in school and she had a crush on him. As they work together she finds herself attracted to the man he has become. I liked the way that she saw past the scar on his face and focused on the inner man. She also sees how he holds back, never opening himself completely to people other than his family. I loved her involvement with the investigation, and how she and Rick work so well together. As they get deeper into their search, Kim gets to know him better, and understand some of his fears. Her feelings for him got stronger and she worked to show him that together they were stronger than by themselves.

He has spent so much time undercover that he has lost sight of who he really is. He is drawn to Kim from the beginning, and they team up to investigate who is after Rick. He is impressed with Kim's abilities and coolness under stress. He is attracted to her, but feels that he would be a bad match for her. Rick doesn't believe that love is an emotion that lasts, and prefers to base relationships on friendship and respect. But there is something different about Kim, and the way she treats him gives him a different outlook. I loved his protectiveness toward her, and the ways that he showed it. His realization that he loved her was a slower one, not a blinding flash after being in danger, but it was just as moving.

I really liked that we finally got the answers to what happened to his foster father. There had been questions from the very first book in the series. All of the brothers had suspected that there was more to his disappearance than was believed by most people. It was pretty clear who was behind his death as the investigation went on, but the how and the why were longer in coming. I really enjoyed the additional information on the Navajo practices that came out during the story. The final confrontation was well done, though not as intense as in some of the earlier books. I loved seeing all the brothers come together at the end and get the closure that they needed. show less

I wanted to like this so, so bad, but it falls short in a couple key areas. First, it tries really hard to be authentic, but it makes a couple key mistakes that a real Dine person would never make. Second, it emphasizes points occasionally that it then does inconsistently. For instance, one chapter emphasizes how traditional members of the Dine avoid using people's names and have a predilection for nicknames. This is correct. But then the book doesn't actually do this except for one show more character. It's like the authors came up with one good nickname and didn't bother trying to avoid names for the rest of the characters. Inauthentic and inconsistent. show less

I keep wanting to like these Ella Clah mysteries more than I do, but I find them to be ho-hum and overly simple. And it mainly has to do with Ella's eternal failings. She royally sucks at her job because she lacks instincts, foresight, and intuition so is forever being caught off guard; she spends all her time chasing her own tail so she cannot foresee even the most basic problems, and in the real world couldn't anticipate and react in time to save her own life. Despite all the evidence show more stacking up to where there is zero doubt, she cannot anticipate any problems until they spin way beyond anyone's control.

This book ends on a positive note because the corollary story is about Ella's pregnancy, but even most of that is fairly ridiculous if you stop to think about it. show less

"Blackening Song," first in the series by Aimee & David Thurlo, is set on the Rez during a conflict between those committed to Navajo Tradition vs those who believe it is time the leave the culture, language and religious practices behind.

The story provides an interesting window into a world closed to outsiders, including those in the FBI who are responsible for capital crimes on Reservations. Context is everything and the story functions on multiple layers without becoming confusing.