'Stargazer: A Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novel' by Anne Hillerman

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Review by Robin Martin of The New Mexican

One of the things I like best about the Hillermans’ Navajo mystery novels — both those of Anne and her father, Tony — is how they introduce me to a part of the Southwest I know very little about. I still vividly remember their descriptions of Malpais country, the ammunition storage bunkers at Fort Wingate, Monument Valley, and the Four Corners landscape.

Anne Hillerman’s newest book, Stargazer, introduced me to the Very Large Array (VLA), a series of radio telescopes near Magdalena in western New Mexico. She describes in layman’s terms how scientists use the array to study everything from our neighboring planets to far-away galaxies. Astronomers from across the world use these enormous dishes to collect radio waves from near and far in the universe. The large dishes are able to “see” parts of the electromagnetic spectrum far beyond the realm of visible light, helping astronomers to understand black holes, how solar systems form, and to “see” previously undiscovered stuff between the stars.

Although I have lived in New Mexico all my life, I have never been to the VLA. Hillerman has convinced me to visit. She also introduced me to the Alamo Navajo Reservation, an outlying Diné community in New Mexico’s Socorro County whose 100 square miles is not contiguous to the rest of the Navajo Reservation.

Hillerman’s novels are different from her father’s in that they delve more deeply into human relationships. In addition to doing her police work, Officer Bernadette Manuelito must take care of her mother and watch over her sister, plus navigate the marital strains that come from being married to a fellow officer.

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/books/anne-hillermans-latest-a-fast-paced-journey-through-a-complicated-puzzle/article_323b29fa-7402-11ec-b87d-7ffa9c5cf6c5.html