I wrote this about The Enemy Way, but it seems to be true of all the Thurlo-authored novels.
I enjoy the Hillerman novels, so I bought this one. A few pages in I remembered that I'd read one of the earlier ones and quit in disgust. Well, several books on, Mr. and Mrs. Thurlo still haven't learned to write adequate fiction.
The dialog is wooden and unconvincing--especially between the heroine, Ella Clah, and her brother, Clifford, who is a Navajo healer. The plotting seems to be straight from the Plot-O-Matic. Characterization is equally weak, especially for the set-piece bad guys, Navajo witches or skinwalkers. On the other hand, I didn't have a clear sense of Ella's character either...
Feh. People buy this crap, again and again. Oh, well, now that I've written this review, I hope I will be able to remember, at the bookstore or the airport, that Thurlo = hideous writing.
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