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Making Dad Proud

Sep 20, 2017
by Caroline Miller
Agatha Christie, Anne Hillerman, Dalgliesh, Edgar Allen Poe, mystery novel, P.D. James, The Spider Woman's Daughter, Tonny Hillerman
2 Comments

A while ago, I wrote a blog mourning the passing of Tony Hillerman (9/25/12) and how, unlike him, many writers of mystery novels give us complex plots but protagonists with little depth. They forget readers have to care about their sleuths, enough to make them flinch when the door to a dark corridor slams behind the protagonist. To make them care, they must know something of the character: emotions, thoughts and yes, flaws.

Of course, I’d be lying if I said a fully developed character was necessary for a book’s success. Agatha Christie’s detectives have little depth. Miss Marple can be relied upon to make some connection between the body in the drawing room and a gardener she once employed, a connection that turns out to be revealing.   Poirot lectures incessantly to his sidekick, Hasting, about the importance of using one’s “little grey cells.” But beyond his vanity, we know little about him.

 Christie isn’t the worst offender. P. D. James’ detective, Dalgliesh, is so flat, his entire character could be slipped beneath a locked door.

 That these mystery writers should be the spawn of Edgar Allen Poe, often credited with having perfected the mystery formant, is itself a mystery. If there was anyone who mastered the art of internal monologue, it’s he. Think of “Tell Tale Heart,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and my meaning is obvious.

 Happily, Tony Hillerman never forgot his duty to his characters and his readers. He gave his detectives, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, rounded personalities.   Leaphorn is methodical, introspective and likes to stick pins in crime maps to look for patterns. He grieves for a wife lost to cancer and stumbles in his attempts to find happiness with another woman. Chee, a younger man, is torn between his respect for his superior officer and the irritation he feels when that officer “meddles.” A bachelor, Chee’s love interests leave him insecure and lonely. By such foibles we come to know both men.

 Fortunately, Hillerman’s death isn’t the end of his characters. Hillerman’s daughter, Anne, has stepped in to fill the void, writing her first novel in her father’s series with seamless skill. Nonetheless, she dares to add touches that leave the reader wanting more. In Spider Woman’s Daughter, A. Hillerman shows the same respect for Indian lore and culture that was the hallmark of her father’s writing. But a new character emerges: officer Bernadette Manuelito. She’s Jim Chee’s new wife and eager to make her mark on the force. In their first adventure together, she joins Chee as he tracks Leaphorn’s would-be killer while the older detective lies comatose in the local hospital, having been shot. Partners in work as well as in life, Manuelito must be sensitive to her husband’s feelings as they follow a thorny trail. He isn’t her only challenge. Her mother is frail and in need of care, but her younger sister chooses life on the wild side.  

 When A. Hillerman’s introduces a woman as a central character, it follows that Jim Chee must change, too.   No longer a lonely bachelor, he is open with his wife, encourages her in her work and displays affection. He has a feminine side and we like him all the better for it. I suspect Anne Hillerman’s father would approve.

(Originally posted 10/19/17)

*Anne Hillerman has a new book coming out soon.

 

Spider Woman's Daughter

Courtesy of Yahoo.com

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2 Comments
  1. ALC September 10, 2015 at 10:57 am Reply
    Thanks for the intro to A. Hillerman's book. I am a fan of her father's writing. Once, when I was laid up following surgery, a friend scoured used book stores and purchased all of his paperbacks for me to read. What a treat!
    • Caroline Miller September 10, 2015 at 12:32 pm Reply
      A friend in need is a friend indeed and there are more treats to come. A. Hillerman's second novel, "Rock with Wings," will be reviewed by the YouTube series, "Just Read it" in 2016.

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Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published four novels

  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

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