Kittling: Books: Monument Valley

Showing posts with label Monument Valley. Show all posts

Monday, June 29, 2015

The Darkness Rolling by Win and Meredith Blevins

First Line: I was itchy.

Seaman Yazzie Goldman served his country during World War II as a member of the shore patrol on the California coast. It's been a long time since he's last seen his family's trading post in Monument Valley, and a lot of things have changed. His beloved grandfather, Moses Goldman, suffered a debilitating stroke, and although Yazzie's mother Nizhoni is doing the best she can, money is scarce and the trading post is slowly falling apart.

Yazzie quickly finds a way to help pay for badly needed repairs and supplies: he's hired on by film director John Ford to serve as a translator and as a bodyguard for actress Linda Darnell, who's been receiving threatening letters.

But Yazzie isn't the only person to come home recently. Zipilote, "the Buzzard," has spent the last twenty-five years in prison, and now he's back in Monument Valley with only one thought in mind: revenge against the two who sent him to prison-- Yazzie's mother and grandfather.

I love Monument Valley. I've stayed at Goulding's Lodge where the stars and film crews stayed while filming so many classic Westerns back in the 1940s and 50s. I've had a Navajo guide take me through not only Monument Valley, but the lesser known (and equally impressive) Mystery Canyon. I was thrilled to see that a new mystery series was set here during its Hollywood period.

The Blevins use this glorious setting to excellent effect and manage to blend in some Navajo traditions as well. The distances involved in bringing in supplies and My Darling Clementine's stars show how remote the area is. In fact, Yazzie gets to travel on the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe's Super Chief and stay at the fabulous Fred Harvey hotel La Posada in Winslow in order to pick up actress Linda Darnell and take her to where the filming is being done.

But it's with Linda Darnell that the book frayed around the edges a bit for me. I've read many historical mysteries, and quite a few of them have historical characters. I normally don't have a problem with that, but I did with the role Darnell plays in this book. I won't go into detail here, and I'm sure the Blevins did their research, but Darnell's characterization just plain made me uncomfortable.

The best secondary character by far is Moses Goldman, and it's easy to see why Yazzie loves him so much. I cheered Moses on in several of his scenes.

Unfortunately other than as a foil for the other characters, Zipilote doesn't really work as a killer for me-- much too one-dimensional. But then... I suppose most homicidal maniacs are.

I like Yazzie, a young man who's half Navajo, half Jew. He wants a "big life" but he still remains level-headed. His time as shore patrol for the Navy has given him a good background in investigating, and he needs it here because when things go wrong-- since he's the Indian in the middle of a bunch of famous white people-- he's the person who gets all the blame. He's also the man who gets all the women in this book, and his second relationship moved so quickly that I'm wondering how well it's going to fit in with the series.

For yes, this is going to be a series, and even though I'm not thrilled with some of the characterizations, I like the main character, and I'm still in love with the setting. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

The Darkness Rolling by Win and Meredith Blevins

ISBN: 9780765378606

Hardcover, 288 pages

Historical Thriller, #1 Yazzie Goldman mystery

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Picture of Lies by C.C. Harrison

First Line: This was supposed to have been a make-up vacation.

Since investigative journalist Keegan Thomas's little daughter Daisy was kidnapped, she's been trying to bury herself in work to avoid thinking about the nightmare her life has become. Now she's facing burnout.

Keegan decides to take some time off to go to Monument Valley to put some names to the faces in an old photograph that was found in her grandfather's belongings after his death. She's surprised when most of the Navajo refuse to speak to her, but she eventually learns that one of the children in the photograph was kidnapped by missionaries and taken to a boarding school. In trying to find out what happened to the child, Keegan will not only learn shocking truths about her family that stretch back two generations, she will be putting her life in danger.

This is one of the few times a book cover has drawn me to a particular book, and when I learned that Picture of Lies is a mystery and does indeed take place in Monument Valley, I had to read it.

I love Monument Valley, and I'm happy to say that Harrison does a good job of giving readers a feel for the vast distances and incredible beauty of the area. I also liked her portrayal of the Navajo characters in the book. I had mixed reactions to Keegan and her archaeologist love interest, Dante, however.

Dante is a handsome, intelligent, caring hunk with a deep dark secret in his past. We get to see the reason why he's hiding out in one scene, but I felt that more about this could have been added throughout the story to make him an even stronger character. The relationship between Dante and Keegan also gathers speed and seriousness a bit too quickly in comparison to how they behaved toward each other in the first sections of the book.

I found Keegan to be a mixture of girl-next-door, journalistic pit bull, and incredible naivete. When she decides to drive off across the desert not knowing where she's going (and not telling anyone what her plans were), equipped with improper clothing, very little water, and a cell phone that didn't work in the area, I just shook my head and rolled my eyes. If it sounds like I've been out in the middle of nowhere, I have, and her lack of common sense greatly disappointed me.

This isn't the only time she experiences the unforgiving nature of this place, and although I may bemoan her lack of survival smarts, these scenes do give readers a real sense of what it's like out there. When Keegan travels with one of the Navajo, the Navajo knows all the rutted tracks to the places they're traveling to; very little driving is done on paved roads. In fact, paved roads are few and far between, and when Keegan mentions leaving Kayenta and turning off on the "interstate" when heading to Window Rock, don't believe her. There are no interstates up there.

By book's end, two important plot threads are left untied, which makes me wonder about future Keegan Thomas books. With the setting, the customs of the Navajo, and a very intriguing mystery in Picture of Lies, I would be willing to read further... as long as Keegan packs a hat and plenty of water.

Picture of Lies by C. C. Harrison

ISBN: 9781432827755

eBook, 326 pages

Thriller

Rating: B-

Source: Purchased and downloaded from Amazon.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

A Monumental Saturday Snapshot

Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by Alyce on her blog, At Home With Books. Here are the ground rules:

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on At Home With Books. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

A few years ago, as a birthday/anniversary gift, Denis treated me to three days up in Monument Valley-- complete with an all-day guided tour. The tour not only went through the parts that have become famous the world over, but also took us through Mystery Canyon, the part of Monument Valley that can only be seen if you're accompanied by a Navajo guide. Mystery Canyon is filled with ancient ruins and is every bit as glorious as Monument Valley itself. Click on any of the photos to view them in larger sizes.