The First Eagle by Tony Hillerman

Another Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navaho Tribal Police novel. The best part of these novels is the author's evocation of Navaho culture, his plain, direct style of writing, and the understated but genuine way he develops his characters. Sometimes it's not too difficult to guess the identity of the murderer, as it was in this case, but then, the mystery is only of secondary importance for me. I've read a number of the Leaphorn/Chee novels by now, and Leaphorn and Chee have come to seem like old friends who I look forward to meeting again; this is what I really want in a series and Hillerman delivers.