The Ghostway

A Los Angeles car-theft ring's violence spills onto the Navajo Nation, and Jim Chee must untangle the connection between a local murder and a larger conspiracy involving the FBI and the LAPD's arson squad — classic Hillerman crime-mystery structure with a real investigation at its core. The tone is gritty and tense given the violence and the conspiracy, but also reflective and atmospheric as Chee grapples with his Navajo identity and the cultural clash between his world and the encroaching one. Moods reflect the suspense of the investigation and the melancholy of the cultural divide. Tropes: a mystery box (the identity of the killer and the scope of the conspiracy), a mentor figure (Chee's guidance), and a coming-of-age arc for young Margaret as she confronts her own family's history and the violence around her.