Tuesday - First Chapter - First Paragraph - Spider Woman's Daughter

Each Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea shares the first part of a book that she is reading or thinking about reading.  This week I'm sharing the first few paragraphs of Spider Woman's Daughter by Anne Hillerman.  This book is my mystery book group selection for July.  I was a little worried when I learned that Anne Hillerman was going to loosely continue her father's mystery series featuring Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.  Tony Hillerman had been a great favorite of mine for years and years.  However, I have heard such good things about Spider Woman's Daughter and recently, the second book in her series was published.  It is called Rock With Wings.  So, let's see what you think:

 

 "I get this call, out of the blue.  A woman.  First, she reminds me that I saved her life.  Then says she wants me to do her a favor..."
     Navajo Police lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, retired, paused for effect, pushing away the plate of toast crumbs and empty packets of grape jelly so he could rest his forearms on the table.  "Wouldn't you think she'd be offering to do me a favor?"
     A couple of the cops sharing the table chuckled.  "Musta been one of those rich white ladies you've been doing insurance work for," Officer Harold Bigman said.  "You better not tell your Louisa."
     Officer Bernadette Manuelito said, "What was the favor?"
     Leaphorn smiled, "I don't know, Bernie.  She set up a lunch date so she could ask me, and stood me up."
     More chuckles.  "Maybe she wanted to find out how good a PI you really are," someone tossed in.
     "It turned out all right," Leaphorn said.  "While I was waiting I ate an excellent BLT, enjoyed the quiet.  And she gave me a reason not to drive in to Santa Fe that day on another case.  I'm getting too old for all this stuff."

Blurb:

Navajo Nation Police Officer Bernadette Manualito witnesses the cold-blooded shooting of someone very close to her. With the victim fighting for his life, the entire squad and the local FBI office are hell-bent on catching the gunman. Bernie, too, wants in on the investigation, despite regulations forbidding eyewitness involvement. But that doesn't mean she's going to sit idly by, especially when her husband, Sergeant Jim Chee, is in charge of finding the shooter.

Bernie and Chee discover that a cold case involving his former boss and partner, retired Inspector Joe Leaphorn, may hold the key. Digging into the old investigation, husband and wife find themselves inching closer to the truth...and closer to a killer determined to prevent justice from taking its course.

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I'm going to love renewing my acquaintance with Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.  Just love it.  Makes me want to go back and reread all Tony Hillerman's books, set in that great area of the US, the Four Corners region.  If you don't know, the Four Corners are where four US states come together - New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah.  I love that area.