Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Spirit Sickness by KIRK MITCHELL ISBN: 0-553-57917-7 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 03 April, 2001 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (12 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Close to Hillerman, and closing
Comment: *Spirit Sickness* is the only book I would recommend to someone who said to me, "I've read all the Leaphorn/Chee books; now what? Isn't there anything else like them?" In this genre that combines mystery fiction with American Indian themes, Thomas Perry, with his superior writing skills and (sadly, now retired) Seneca heroine, Jane Whitefield, and Kirk Mitchell, with his rural western settings and duo of American Indian cops, are the top contenders for Hillerman's crown when the master decides to retire. (And yes, I know about Doss, the Thurlos, Stablenow, etc. Different league.)
*Spirit Sickness* is a PG-13 Hillerman novel with a touch of Ellroy/Harris nastiness spicing things up. The crimes are more graphic than anything Hillerman would subject us to, and there is a bit of graphic sex as well. The villain is a violent psychopath--a type that only appears, and briefly, in one of the Chee/Leaphorn books. But the action is fast and furious, the conflict and attraction between the two cops exciting and engaging, and overall this is a solid, satisfying read.
For a complete discussion of the "Indian mystery" genre, check my web site.
Rating: 5
Summary: A very gripping read...
Comment: I read 'Ancient Ones' and the prequels, 'Spirit Sickness' and 'Cry Dance' in one week-end, that is how un-put-down-able I consider these books. The last book kept me up well into the night.
To comment on the much debated comparisons to Tony Hillerman: I am a great fan of the Leaphorn/Chee series, but personally, I am finding I prefer Mitchell to Hillerman at this point. I find Mitchell's books faster paced and more complex, therefore more gripping. With Hillerman, it got too easy to guess who the bad guy was. It was always (or almost always) the white one.
With regard to the relationship between Parker and Tunipseed, I think it ads a great deal to the story and in no way detracts from the plot. This level of character development is rare in these types of books, and I find it a refreshing change. It makes them real, flaws and all, as opposed to being two-dimensional cookie-cutter crimefighters. Strangely, no one seems to have a problem when Hillerman's main characters are involved in relationships. I wonder if it is the child abuse angle that is making people uncomfortable here. In any case, I am looking forward to seeing how Emmett and Anna's relationship evolves in the fourth book (I hope the author has plans for a fourth book in this series, if not more!).
Rating: 5
Summary: Satisfying and Mature Page Turner
Comment: Mitchell has taken the emerging Indian Reservation Mystery genre and transported it beyond the cliches. This satisfying novel is mature on several levels: plot development, character development, sophistication and depravity of the villians' human motives (as well as those of some good guys, too).
This is a good page-turner with fresh twists on the "torn between two worlds" modern Indian/cop conflict. The believably sketched heroes are delightfully flawed and vulnerable--though their stamina occasionally stretches credulity.
The settings of the multi-layered but comprehensible plot move us on and off the rez with gritty, believable reality. Mitchell creates credible characters without any of the tired Indian-as-misunderstood-and-victimized-mystic trappings that reduces some other novelists' efforts in the genre.
Mitchell even manages to transcend the usual, cliche conflicts between tribal police departments and federal law enforcement agencies while maintaining a realistic sense of bureaucratic functioning. And get this, not every bureaucrat is wooden and incompetent!
The inventive plot evolves with taut exposition and the believability that's born of both familiarity and homework. You'll be surprised at some developments, and smugly proud of your powers of deduction in predicting others. But you'll never feel cheated.
All in all, this is a tale as fresh, stimulating, and welcome as a spring rain over a desert in the four corners.
 |
Title: Cry Dance by Kirk Mitchell ISBN: 0553579142 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 06 June, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
 |
Title: Sky Woman Falling by Kirk Mitchell ISBN: 0425191915 Publisher: Prime Crime Pub. Date: 04 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
 |
Title: Ancient Enemy by Robert Westbrook ISBN: 0451204816 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 05 December, 2001 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
 |
Title: The Shaman Sings by James D. Doss ISBN: 0380724960 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 November, 1995 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
 |
Title: The Shaman Laughs by James D. Doss ISBN: 0380726904 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
