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Title
Hoodoo
Susan Cummins Miller
Review
Set in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona (highlighted in a recent Discovery Channel feature as one of America's most beautiful areas), this mystery has elements of the recently departed Tony Hillerman's work, but with the main character looking in on the Native American tribe (Apache) instead of looking out from it.
Geologist Frankie MacFarlane becomes a suspect in a series of murders and enlists her field trip students and her Apache friends to help find the real culprits. Both the recent and distant past play a part in solving the puzzle, and the plot has some informative aspects to it, especially regarding mining and mineral rights.
The characters are well developed except for Frankie, but since this is the fourth in the series, I'm sure there was more in the previous stories. Some of the geological details were a little too obscure for me, but I'm sure some readers would enjoy them.
The writing is not up to Hillerman's standard, but it's fine, and at least the subject matter and setting are appealing. ~ Allan Goode
Review Date
Reviewed March 2010
