“Chin took three steps backward into the alley as Ames stepped through the doorway. Scanning the alley and eyeing the box Chin was carrying, Ames said, ‘First time, last time, Chin. I don’t know how I ever let you talk me into this deal in the first place. Now let’s get the hell back in the store. You can never be too careful. Besides—’

“A single shot from a semiautomatic handgun cut Ames’s response short. Collapsing to his knees, he fell face forward into a pothole near the alley’s edge. The jagged asphalt edge cut a three-inch-long gash in his forehead as blood oozed from the pencil-eraser-sized entry wound in his neck and his lower jaw twitched. Eight seconds later both of his eyes rolled back in his head, and Wiley Ames gasped a final truncated breath.”

Book Review:

Review by Chuck Barksdale  (OCT 24, 2010)

In First of State, Robert Greer goes back in time to the early career of his main character, C.J. Floyd. The series started in the 1990s, but this book begins in the fall of 1971 when 20 year old Calvin Jefferson Floyd returns to Denver, Colorado to live with his bail bondsman uncle Ike Floyd, after serving two years in the Navy in Viet Nam. This very enjoyable book not only provides details about how Floyd became a successful bail bondsman and part-time private investigator, but also provides a great mix of characters and mystery as Floyd searches for several years to find the murder of pawnshop worker and collector Wiley Ames.

One of the first places C.J. Floyd visits after returning to Denver is to GI Joes, a lower downtown Denver pawnshop. He had hidden some antique license plates that he had stolen from the store just before leaving for Viet Nam and hoped to get them back to add to his prized collection. Unfortunately, during his absence, the store has been remodeled and his hiding spot is no longer there. However, he does meet and befriend 46-year old recovering alcoholic World War II veteran and avid collector, Wiley Ames. Because of their similar interests and backgrounds, despite their difference in ages, Wiley is able to understand C.J. Floyd’s difficulty in adjusting to his return from war. C.J. enjoys his conversations with Wiley and after only a short time feels they could be friends.

However, shortly thereafter, C.J. Floyd finds out that Ames is murdered outside the store. Because of the quick friendship that developed between Ames and Floyd, C.J. feels obligated to solve the murder, especially since he still has not adjusted to life back in Denver. He spends weeks gathering information with the help of his friends and his uncle. Unfortunately, despite his dedication, he is forced to put the investigation aside and work with his uncle.

C.J.’s interest in the murder returns in 1976 when he finds a license plate that he believes was part of Wiley Ames’ collection that Wiley showed him in 1971. C.J suspects the seller of the license plate may be guilty or at least know something of the murder so he starts there in hopes of gathering the information to finally solve the murder. This leads C.J. to Wiley Ames niece who inherited much from Wiley Ames and others that hold the clues to the murder.

Much of the book surrounds C.J.’s relationship with his uncle Ike Floyd. Ike, who raised C.J. since he was two years old, takes C.J. into his bail bondman and bounty hunter business and encourages him to learn the business as he thinks this will help C.J. Although he keeps it to himself, Ike also knows he needs help in the business because his deteriorating health is keeping him from doing the job that has led to be as successful as he has been. Ike has struggled for years with alcohol addiction but despite that has run a very good bail bondsman business and the only one run by an African-American. The interactions and relationship between C.J. and Ike is the best part of the book and goes a long way to providing a better understanding of why C.J. is the way he is.

Although I’ve read one previous book by Robert Greer (Heat Shock (2003)), this is the first book in the C.J. Floyd series that I have read. Since this is a prequel, I felt this would not be a bad place to start. I certainly enjoyed the book, especially reading about C.J. Floyd’s early days learning his trade and his relationship with his uncle. However, I did miss out on what I should be looking for as new characters were introduced in the book. I could not appreciate the “that’s how they met” moment or appreciate why or how a relationship exists in the present day. I’m not saying that to discourage new readers but to suggest that fans of the series will get more out of the book and encourage them to read it. Of course, a few key characters in First of State, are not in future books and new readers will be more surprised (and disappointed) when they don’t survive this book.

After reading First of State, I read a few chapters of The Devil’s Hatband, the first book in the C.J. Floyd series. Although written fourteen years prior to First of State, much of the same style and approach are present. In both books, Greer spends much time introducing the reader to what appears to be a main character, only to have that person murdered. This is an interesting approach that Greer uses that makes the reader really want C.J. Floyd to solve the murder and find the murderer. I’m certainly looking forward to finishing this book and many others in this enjoyable series.

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 2 readers
PUBLISHER:	North Atlantic Books (October 19, 2010)
REVIEWER:	Chuck Barksdale
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK?	Not Yet
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Robert Greer
EXTRAS:	Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	Read our review of: Heat Shock

Bibliography:

C.J. Floyd Mystery Series

• The Devil’s Hatband (1996; 2004)
• The Devil’s Red Nickel (1997; 2005)
• The Devil’s Backbone (1998; 2006)
• Resurrecting Langston Blue (2005)
• The Fourth Perspective (2006)
• The Mongoose Deception (2007)
• Blackbird Farewell (October 2008)
• First of State (October 2010)

Stand-alone:

• Limited Time (2000)
• Heat Shock (2003)
• Spoon (October 2009)

Short Stories:

• Isolation and Other Stories (June 2001)

“Yes, there was a message written in this man’s death, and it included the hood of her Dodge. Something logical to the murderer. Something obviously about Ma’ii, the Coyote. …Maybe Trybek had the coyote parts that played into the murder. But she had the two coyotes that had been mutilated. The murderer had something symbolic to tell her.”

Book Review:

Review by Katherine Petersen (NOV 25, 2009)

On her way to work, Lilli Chischilly finds two dead coyotes on the hood of her truck. She knows it’s a message but hasn’t figured out who, what or why. Lilli buried the coyotes, but that’s just the first piece of a mystery that grows in size and complexity every time she turns around. A murdered Navajo man found in the Badlands with coyote reproductive parts shoved down his throat; a series of photographs of a girl taken by her friend from long ago, Jerome Bah; political favors wanted from the presidential front runner; and another man who wants to kill the candidate to revenge a family wrong from the past. Somehow they all connect.

Lilli grew up on the Navajo reservation, attended college and law school among the whites and has come back to put her legal skills to work for the reservation’s Historic Preservation Department. She has a strategic position that straddles both worlds and makes her crucial to the plans of people who might not have her best interests at heart. Jerome, the boy who was forever at her side as a boy, has returned from L.A. to the reservation after losing a wife and child, hoping to begin their relationship again. A photographer who speaks in pictures, Jerome has a message to convey to her through a series he took of a girl. And he wants a response. Then Lilli’s boss assigns her to take a water-rafting trip down the Colorado River with Mr. Lee, the front runner in the presidential race. Billed as time to spend with his family and learn about the Navajo people, Lilli knows he wants something from her as the Navajo’s representative, but she doesn’t know what.

Jennifer Kitchell delivers a beautifully written, lyrical and deftly plotted mystery in Girl with Skirt of Stars. Her intimate knowledge of the Navajo make it easy for her to bring this world of “walking in beauty” to life for her readers. It also gives her intimate knowledge and ability to fully develop Lilli’s character as one who understands two cultures: how they mix and how they collide. Navajos emphasize balance: good and evil, light and dark, right and wrong. Lilli also must confront a difference between white and Navajo justice, and for Navajos, sometimes two wrongs might make a right.

Kitchell combines political agendas, revenge, mysticism and murder to create a story that twists and turns, giving the reader small glimpses as the pages turn. Kitchell has a natural talent for storytelling, so doesn’t need to rely on action scenes to propel her plot. Instead, she spends time interweaving action with in-depth character development, illustrations of Navajo custom and belief with flowing prose and descriptive scenes where you can almost feel the canyon walls at the narrowest point of the Colorado River and distinguish different bird calls and blossom colors. She also possesses a deep understanding of human nature–at its best and at its worst—showing us individuals who will do anything to right a long-ago wrong or to win her approval and one man who ignores advice in his attempts to help her. Lilli struggles to understand the people and mystery around her, piecing together motives and information she gleans along the way in her attempt to determine the truth and keep her people safe. Kitchell intertwines Navajo lore, rituals and customs into the story in a way that adds credibility and knowledge without taking away from the plot. I recommend this book to all mystery fans but especially those who enjoy Native American mysteries. Girl with Skirt of Stars has a more literary feel than the mysteries of Tony Hillerman and Aimee and David Thurlo, but I think fans of these authors will find Kitchell’s novel as rich and enjoyable as I did.

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 10 readers
PUBLISHER:	Pronghorn Press; first limited edition, edition (August 1, 2009)
REVIEWER:	Katherine Petersen
AMAZON PAGE:	Girl with Skirt of Stars
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Jennifer Kitchell
EXTRAS:	Reading Guide and Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	Navajo Mysteries: Skeleton Man by Tony Hillerman Death Walker by Aimee & David Thurlo ———— More fiction about Mountain Meadows Massacre: Redeye: A Western by Clyde Edgerton ———— More Native American fiction: The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich and her previous novels The Grass Dancer by Susan Power ———— Nonfiction: Selling Your Father’s Bones by Brian Schofield

Bibliography:

• Girl with Skirt of Stars (August 2009)