NAVAJO AUTUMN: NAVAJO NATION MYSTERY, BOOK 1 (audiobook) by R. Allen Chappell

Published in 2016 by Tantor Media.
Read by Kaipo Schwab.
Duration: 3 hours, 45 minutes.
Unabridged.

A couple of years ago I requested my library order the audiobook of Navajo Autumn. Honestly, I asked for it because I was looking to find a little bit of that Tony Hillerman magic in a new book series.

But, just because a book is set in the same place as another book series and has a similar theme to another book series doesn't mean it is anywhere near the quality of the other book series.

I finished this audiobook because the library paid for it because of me and I felt I owed it to them to give it an honest listen. Plus, it was short at just 3 hours and 45 minutes.

So, what was wrong with the book. Technically, nothing major. The mystery was okay, but not great - kind of like a real-life mystery. An Bureau of Indiana Affairs investigator from Washington, D.C. comes to the Navajo Reservation to look into some problems with some water rights contracts that Reservation leaders have signed. She is found dead at the side of a river on the Reservation. Want to guess who had her killed?

Well, the cops in the book accuse a habitual drunk without a violent record who just happened to pass out in his normal place - pretty close to where they found the body. Don't worry - there were no spoilers in the previous sentence - all of that happens in the first 10 minutes.

The book is simply too fast-paced and the reader also reads at a fairly quick pace. Easy to understand, but a tad too fast. Also, the mystery was pretty obvious. All of these things just add up to a subpar audiobook experience.

I rate this audiobook 2 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: NAVAJO AUTUMN: NAVAJO NATION MYSTERY, BOOK by R. Allen Chappell.