Although I'm a longtime Hillerman fan, reading the earlier reviews discouraged me from getting this one. But I'm happy to report The Shape Shifter was much better than I expected. The protagonist is definitely Joe Leaphorn, settling a mystery that can be traced back to his earliest days as a cop, and the pace is a little slower, but the story is meditative and focused, considering the evil growing out of selfishness and greed in all cultures. There is an interesting and healthy dollop of Native American and Vietnamese origins mythology, and a thoughtful consideration of the effects of the BIA placement program on young Navajos of the 50s and 60s. Definitely worth reading. (And contrary to earlier reviews, I didn't notice "the legendary lieutenant" mentioned once.)

American society seldom equates age with wisdom. We esteem youth and energy, and expend them without regard to cost. The retired are relegated to the ranks of invisible, and their road is only a short curve away from assisted living. Instead, Tony Hillerman awes us with his latest offering on the altar of storytelling, The Shape Shifter. I like this book. There are other Hillerman's that I liked better, but this one is a good read.

TV and film have relegated many books to source material. Our expectation of drama is fueled by CSI-type series that neatly wrap up a story/case in 59 minutes. Hillerman takes the reader into the domain of the reservation -- the vast western space where distance consumes the entire day (not to mention the gas tank), the landscape will awe and shape events, and the wisdom of age will sometimes ensure survival. Perhaps the book's pacing is slower than the urban life around us -- that's ok.

Shapeshifter touches on themes that Hillerman shares through the eyes and voice of Joe Leaphorn, retired: similarity of creation myths, be they Hmong or Navajo, the FBI/CIA conflicts, the continuing legacy of the Vietnam war, the simple truth of Navajo rug weaving, and finally, how justice is measured. Through the many books in Hillerman's series, I have come to appreciate the view of Leaphorn -- a man of his time, now troubled by age, "he was old and too weary to be a safe nightime driver when the drunks were on the highway." And that sleepless night is spent in productive thought. And so I spent my sleepless Christmas Eve night with Tony Hillerman, and is was like visiting an old and wise friend. Late Christmas morning I finished the book, and chuckled to myself. Hillerman is still one of the finest storytellers in American/Navajo literature. I would recommend this book.

So Tony Hillerman is in his 80's now and we still expect a lot. I suppose that is a compliment to his first 10+ books in the series. The Wailing Wind had us all a little worried as it wasn't as good as previous works. Then The Sinister Pig and The Skeleton Man came out and we knew something was lost, maybe forever. The Shape Shifter gives me hope that Tony may have a book or two in the future for us that won't dissapoint us. Yes, I'll concede that the timeline of Leaphorn's retirement didn't make much sense but some of the other critisisms given were just plain wrong. (The robbery wasn't for just a couple thousand bucks. It was done in order to fake a death and claim insurance money for the rug!) Other aspects that were fun were Leaphorn's aging and boredom with retirement. On the other side, the book was very, very predictable from the mystery angle and fairly unbelievable as far as Leaphorn's actions in the end. But the old Hillerman mystery twists and turns along with his ability to reveal what is truly beautiful in this world was certainly there. He revealed how even very modest people with little money can have true beauty in their lives while the very rich often live in their own prisons. He showed the inner characters of people from 1/2 way around the world and tied in his strong opinions of the way the larger powers that be have acted in such immoral ways in the past. And in the end, he left indications that he was not done writing about Leaphorn and Chee. I do hope that Hillerman does consider a possible team member to clean up some details and add some spice, but I don't think this book was bad. Limited, but definitely not bad and certainly much better than the previous two in the series.

A friend loaned me The Shape Shifter-Hillerman's latest in the Leaphorn/Chee books. I was grateful for the loan because I long ago gave up buying Hillerman books. I refuse to waste my money on what has become a downward spiral of what at one point were good books by Hillerman. With some authors it becomes obvious they continue to pump out books for the mere sake of "getting one to the publisher", such is the case with Hillerman. This story as described by other reviewers is just not that interesting, contrived and sloppy. If you must read it, wait until someone loans it to you or you can get it at the library.

I have been a fan of Tony Hillerman from the beginning, and while The Shape Shifter is not his top effort, there is much to like here.

Retired Tribal Police Officer, Joe Leaphorn, gets a note from another retired Tribal Police friend turned private investigator, Melvin Bork. In the letter is a photo that appeared in a recent magazine of a priceless Navajo rug that was supposedly destroyed in a fire years ago. Bork and Leaphorn have always been troubled by this arson case, in which a man from the FBI's most wanted list was also killed. Bork decides to investigate the reappearance of the tale-teller rug, and he quickly disappears. Leaphorn realizes that he must go back an reinvestigate the original case to discover what happened to Bork. He receives the assistance of another retired officer--this time an FBI agent, Ted Rostic. Having the two retired law officers working together is a refreshing change as the Tribal Police and the FBI usually have an adversarial relationship (the Tribal Police call them the Federal Bureau of Ineptitude). As Leaphorn gets closer to solving the mystery, the more his life becomes endangered.

On the plus side of The Shape Shifter, it is good to have Joe Leaphorn play such a prominent role as he has been taking a backseat to Officer Jim Chee in more recent books. But Chee and Officer Bernadette Manuelito have just returned from their honeymoon in Hawaii and are still on leave. It is also good to have Hillerman back to Indian culture and Indian history and describing such things that have made Hillerman's books different from any other mystery writers. It was especially sad reading about how Indian children were sent by the government to boarding schools and how they lost much of their heritage and culture in this arrangement. But where Hillerman really drops the ball is the plot, which didn't make much sense to me. It was definitely forced and even after reaching the end, I couldn't figure it out.

I think fans of Hillerman will enjoy The Shape Shifter, but just know that there are some flaws here.