Lost birds a Leaphorn, Chee and Manuelito novel Anne Hillerman.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Anne Hillerman is a star."--J. A. Jance, New York Times bestselling author

From New York Times bestselling author Anne Hillerman, a thrilling and moving chapter in the Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito series involving several emotionally complex cases that will test the detectives in different ways.

Joe Leaphorn may be long retired from the Navajo Tribal Police, but his detective skills are still sharp, honed by his work as a private detective. His experience will be essential to solve a compelling new case: finding the birth parents of a woman who was raised by a bilagáana family but believes she is Diné based on one solid clue, an old photograph with a classic Navajo child's blanket. Leaphorn discovers that his client's adoption was questionable, and her adoptive family not what they seem. His quest for answers takes him to an old trading post and leads him to a deadly cache of long-buried family secrets.

As that case grows more complicated, Leaphorn receives an unexpected call from a person he met decades earlier. Cecil Bowleg's desperation is clear in his voice, but just as he begins to explain, the call is cut off by an explosion and Cecil disappears. True to his nature, Leaphorn is determined to find the truth even as the situation grows dangerous. Investigation of the explosion falls in part to Officer Bernadette Manuelito, who discovers an unexpected link to Cecil's missing wife.

Bernie also is involved in a troubling investigation of her own: an elderly weaver whose prize-winning sheep have been ruthlessly killed by feral dogs.

Exploring the emotionally complex issues of adoption of Indigenous children by non-native parents, Anne Hillerman delivers another thought-provoking, gripping mystery that brings to life the vivid terrain of the American Southwest, its people, and the lore and traditions that make it distinct.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

The multilayered latest entry in Hillerman's long-running series featuring New Mexico Navajo investigators Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernadette Manuelito (after The Way of the Bear) is as vibrant as ever. PI Leaphorn is on the phone with new client Cecil Bowlegs, who's hoping to track down his errant wife, when an explosion on Bowlegs's end of the line disrupts the conversation. Tribal Police officer Manuelito is assigned to assist the FBI in their investigation of the explosion--which occurred in the a Navajo school Bowlegs was standing near--with police lieutenant Chee providing occasional support when he's not tied up with administrative headaches or helping a local weaver keep her sheep safe from feral dogs. Meanwhile, Leaphorn juggles a second case in which he helps a young woman track down her biological parents, who may be Navajo, though she was raised white. As each inquiry unfolds, Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito uncover links between them, with the truth about Bowlegs's wife a potential linchpin. Hillerman draws deeply from her characters' well-worn dynamics without getting too bogged down in past story lines, making this a treat for newcomers and long-haulers alike. It's a pleasure to spend time with Hillerman's upstanding investigative trio. (Apr.)

Booklist Review

To fill his time, recently retired Navajo detective Joe Leaphorn occasionally takes on private investigations, and in his latest adventure, he has two difficult cases: tracking down Bethany Bowlegs, whose husband is desperate to find her, and finding the birth parents of a woman who was adopted by a white family at birth but believes she's Navajo. Bernie Manuelito, wife of fellow cop Jim Chee, is dealing with an explosion at the local school, managing her alcoholic sister, and supporting her aging mother. Leaphorn's housemate, Louisa, throws up another challenge for Joe when her embittered adult son reveals he has terminal cancer and a pregnant wife, then kidnaps Louisa. The multiple plotlines are enhanced by Hillerman's (The Way of the Bear, 2023) enlightening descriptions of Navajo customs and culture and the breathtaking landscapes of the Navajo Nation; she also depicts the demands of modern policing and the challenges of family dynamics. Heartwarming, gently humorous, occasionally dark, this slice-of-life book offers another entertaining read from a gifted author.

Kirkus Book Review

Legendary Lt. Joe Leaphorn returns to center stage in this tale of sabotage, disappearance, and murder among the Navajo Nation. Retired from the Navajo Nation police to work as a private eye, Leaphorn is no longer a lieutenant, but his renown makes him a natural choice for Stella Brown to consult in her search for her biological family. Adopted many years ago by Stan and Rita Brown, Stella was never able to get them to say anything about her birth parents, and now that she's 55, she thinks that connection is long overdue. Before Leaphorn has made any progress, another case intrudes when Cecil Bowlegs, the custodian at Eagle Roost school, asks him to look into the disappearance three weeks ago of his wife, singer Bethany Benally Bowlegs. Bowlegs' early morning phone call is interrupted in turn by an explosion at Eagle Roost that destroys the building housing the custodian's closet--though not, for the moment, Leaphorn's latest client, who'd stepped outside to make the call. As if to make sure Leaphorn doesn't get a moment's rest and to stir another set of troubles into the pot, Kory Bourbonette, the long-estranged son of Leaphorn's live-in, Louisa, turns up to announce that he's dying of cancer. The strongest parts of this tasting menu are those concerning the forced cultural assimilation of the "lost birds," the Indigenous children adopted by non-Native parents. But every strand of the story, which also features supporting roles for tribal officer Bernadette Manuelito and her husband, Lt. Jim Chee, is likely to hold the interest of franchise fans who aren't too fussy about how all those strands will be tied together. Continuously absorbing and sometimes piercing. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.