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Finding Moon
Tony Hillerman's bestselling Navajo mysteries have thrilled millions of readers with their taut, intricate plotting, sensitive, subtle characterizations and lyrical evocations of landscapes and cultures. Now he departs his trademark terrain and applies his talents to a story he has wanted to tell for decades about an ordinary man thrust into total chaos.
Until the telephone call came for him on April 12, 1975, the world of Moon Mathias had settled into a predictable routine. He knew who he was. He was the disappointing son of Victoria Mathias, the brother of the brilliant, recently dead Ricky Mathias and a man who could be counted on to solve small problems. But the telephone caller was an airport security officer, and the news he delivered handed Moon a problem as large as Southeast Asia.
His mother, who should be in her Florida apartment, is fighting for her life in a Los Angeles hospital -- stricken while en route to the Philippines to bring home a grandchild they hadn't known existed. The papers in her purse send Moon into a world totally strange to him. They lure him down the back streets of Manila, to a rural cockfight, into the odd Filipino prison on Palawan Island and finally across the South China Sea to where Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge is turning Cambodia into killing fields and Communist rockets are beginning to fall on the outskirts of Saigon.
Finding Moon is many things: a latter-day adventure epic, a deftly orchestrated romance, an arresting portrait of an exotic realm engulfed in turmoil, and a neatly turned tale of suspense. Most of all, it is a singular story of how a plain, uncertain man finds his best self.
Until the telephone call came for him on April 12, 1975, the world of Moon Mathias had settled into a predictable routine. He knew who he was. He was the disappointing son of Victoria Mathias, the brother of the brilliant, recently dead Ricky Mathias and a man who could be counted on to solve small problems. But the telephone caller was an airport security officer, and the news he delivered handed Moon a problem as large as Southeast Asia.
His mother, who should be in her Florida apartment, is fighting for her life in a Los Angeles hospital -- stricken while en route to the Philippines to bring home a grandchild they hadn't known existed. The papers in her purse send Moon into a world totally strange to him. They lure him down the back streets of Manila, to a rural cockfight, into the odd Filipino prison on Palawan Island and finally across the South China Sea to where Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge is turning Cambodia into killing fields and Communist rockets are beginning to fall on the outskirts of Saigon.
Finding Moon is many things: a latter-day adventure epic, a deftly orchestrated romance, an arresting portrait of an exotic realm engulfed in turmoil, and a neatly turned tale of suspense. Most of all, it is a singular story of how a plain, uncertain man finds his best self.
Audiobook
First published September 1, 1995
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About the author
Tony Hillerman
226Ìýbooks1,745ÌýfollowersTony Hillerman, who was born in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma, was a decorated combat veteran from World War II, serving as a mortarman in the 103rd Infantry Division and earning the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart. Later, he worked as a journalist from 1948 to 1962. Then he earned a Masters degree and taught journalism from 1966 to 1987 at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where he resided with his wife until his death in 2008. Hillerman, a consistently bestselling author, was ranked as New Mexico's 25th wealthiest man in 1996. - Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 254 reviews
October 6, 2019
I absolutely LOVED this book! It is not Hillerman's usual fare and I think it is far better :) This was the last book I had left to read that he has written and in this case, I did save the best for last.
February 27, 2012
319 pages of excellent storytelling, without sex or excess violence. The main character is a small-town newspaper worker from Colorado who is suddenly thrust into the final days of the Vietnam war by his dead brother. Moon Mathias is a Vietnam veteran who has his life back in order, or so he thinks, until a telephone call that lets him know his brother, who was running a charter helicopter service in Vietnam, is dead. Things go from bad-to-worse for Moon. He finds out his brother has a child that he left behind in Cambodia. Moon's mother, who wants to see the grandchild she has never met, has a severe heart attack and is hospitalized. Moon is off on an unplanned journey halfway around the world, from Colorado to The Philippines, to Vietnam in its chaotic end of the war days, and into Cambodia where the Khmer Rouge are rampaging. Into international danger, intrigue and mystery. The locations he visits and the people he meets are all vividly painted by Hillerman as beautifully as in his Navajo mysteries. Get out a good world atlas to follow the action and really immerse yourself into this story.
April 25, 2025
4 Stars for Finding Moon (audiobook) by Tony Hillerman read by Erik Bergmann.
A man is challenged with bringing home his recently deceased brother’s child from Southeast Asia. It’s April of 1975 and the world is kind of chaotic as the war in Vietnam is coming to an end. The family wasn’t aware of the child until recently and now it’s a race to try and find them and bring them back so they can meet their ailing grandmother.
A man is challenged with bringing home his recently deceased brother’s child from Southeast Asia. It’s April of 1975 and the world is kind of chaotic as the war in Vietnam is coming to an end. The family wasn’t aware of the child until recently and now it’s a race to try and find them and bring them back so they can meet their ailing grandmother.
May 13, 2019
Just as everyone is fleeing Vietnam, and the surrounding Pol Pot bloodbath, Moon Mathias is ordered by his mother to go in and find his dead brothers alleged illegitimate baby.
Along the way Moon collects a motley group of people with equally unreasonable expectations of him.
I enjoyed the recurring theme that family and friends can see the best of you and maybe that’s all it takes for you to rise to the occasion.
But this was lunacy.
It read more like a National Geographic Excursion through a war zone. Lots of Instagram spots of atrocities, empty villages, and destroyed Buddhist relics among the bucolic scenery. Hear the gunshots, birds singing, and children crying from far off. But no danger here or wherever we set foot.
March 2, 2025
Reread in progress, after a chance purchase (for 25c.) at the library booksale. So I opened it, just to see if it's as good as I remember... Next thing I know, I'm at p. 145 (of 354)!
Written when the Old Master was at the height of his storytelling powers, this is a family drama set in the chaos of the collapse of the American-backed Vietnamese government, circa 1975. I think he got the period Asian stuff right. I know he got the drama back home in the USA right. He drew on his experience as a soldier and a newspaperman, and on his Southwestern upbringing, And boy, Hillerman could write! We miss him. RIP �.
So, if you're a Hillerman fan and missed this one, you're in for a treat. Or, like me, you might be in the mood for a reread. 25c. well spent!
"He was a decorated combat veteran of World War II, serving from August 1943 to October 1945. He served as a mortar-man in the 103rd Infantry Division. He earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart. He attended the University of Oklahoma after the war ..."
Written when the Old Master was at the height of his storytelling powers, this is a family drama set in the chaos of the collapse of the American-backed Vietnamese government, circa 1975. I think he got the period Asian stuff right. I know he got the drama back home in the USA right. He drew on his experience as a soldier and a newspaperman, and on his Southwestern upbringing, And boy, Hillerman could write! We miss him. RIP �.
So, if you're a Hillerman fan and missed this one, you're in for a treat. Or, like me, you might be in the mood for a reread. 25c. well spent!
"He was a decorated combat veteran of World War II, serving from August 1943 to October 1945. He served as a mortar-man in the 103rd Infantry Division. He earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart. He attended the University of Oklahoma after the war ..."
July 6, 2013
This is the first non Jim Chee novel I have read by Hillerman. While it was an easy read, I found it predictable and, at the same time, not believable. The characteristics of each person were repeated rather than developed. Osa was classy, Moon was not. Moon had self doubt, everyone else believed in him. Mr. Lee was mystical and Nugeyn was pro American and fiesty. Hillerman did his homework about VietNam, the war, the country and surrounding areas and for that I give him credit.
July 28, 2009
Hillerman is not at his best when he leaves his milieu of the U.S. Southwest. This predictable book finds his protagonist, a newspaper managing editor, searching for his recently deceased brother's baby daughter by a Cambodian woman. So he and a crew of people who have attached themselves to him have to cross the Mekong River delta into Cambodia just as South Vietnam is falling to the NVA in 1975 and Cambodia succumbs to its Khmer Rouge nightmare. It moves fairly glacially through three-quarters of the book and then picks up steam. It's a small story played out on the stage of big historical events but Hillerman doesn't really capture either successfully. It was a disappointment after being at least entertained by his Chee/Leaphorn works set in Navaho country. I think it was more or less a throwaway nod to his fellow Vietnam vets.
May 16, 2017
Like millions of other readers, I first encountered Tony Hillerman in his Leaphorn and Chee mysteries. A master of characterization, intricate, twisty plots, and lush depictions of place, I had fallen in love with his Southwest and gained a much deeper understanding of the Native American cultures that coexisted there. Could those gifts be transplanted to a place outside American borders?
In "Finding Moon," Hillerman shows that the answer is a definite yes.
Malcolm "Moon" begins his story as a small-town newspaper editor in Colorado. His younger brother Ricky dies in a helicopter crash in Vietnam, where he has been operating an air cargo company. He leaves behind a daughter. Malcolm's mother, Victoria, sets out on a journey to bring the child to America, but she never makes it, suffering a heart attack in the airport that lands her in intensive care, awaiting bypass surgery. This leaves Moon to deal with his mother's illness, followed by his own trip to southeast Asia. Set in the spring of 1975, Moon lands in the final chaotic days of the Vietnamese conflict, the Khmer Rouge's rise to power in Cambodia, and the desperate flood of refugees trying to escape before there is no way out.
Along the way, Moon is talked into helping an old man search for his family's ancestral bones, and a Dutch-Indonesian woman seeks his assistance to rescue her brother, a Christian missionary in the mountains of Vietnam.
Hillerman keeps all these plot strands singing along, intersecting and tying themselves into a satisfyingly tricky knot. The suspense builds, the emotional stakes continue to rise, and what started out as a story about a man searching for other people and things becomes the tale of how he discovers his true self.
Hillerman's insightful comments on the conflicting attitudes of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, Laosian, and Chinese, as well as his honest portrayals of the misguided American efforts in the region, are well worth the experience of reading this book. The conflict might have ended over thirty years ago, but humankind's ability to make the same mistakes in different locations is incredible.
In "Finding Moon," Hillerman shows that the answer is a definite yes.
Malcolm "Moon" begins his story as a small-town newspaper editor in Colorado. His younger brother Ricky dies in a helicopter crash in Vietnam, where he has been operating an air cargo company. He leaves behind a daughter. Malcolm's mother, Victoria, sets out on a journey to bring the child to America, but she never makes it, suffering a heart attack in the airport that lands her in intensive care, awaiting bypass surgery. This leaves Moon to deal with his mother's illness, followed by his own trip to southeast Asia. Set in the spring of 1975, Moon lands in the final chaotic days of the Vietnamese conflict, the Khmer Rouge's rise to power in Cambodia, and the desperate flood of refugees trying to escape before there is no way out.
Along the way, Moon is talked into helping an old man search for his family's ancestral bones, and a Dutch-Indonesian woman seeks his assistance to rescue her brother, a Christian missionary in the mountains of Vietnam.
Hillerman keeps all these plot strands singing along, intersecting and tying themselves into a satisfyingly tricky knot. The suspense builds, the emotional stakes continue to rise, and what started out as a story about a man searching for other people and things becomes the tale of how he discovers his true self.
Hillerman's insightful comments on the conflicting attitudes of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, Laosian, and Chinese, as well as his honest portrayals of the misguided American efforts in the region, are well worth the experience of reading this book. The conflict might have ended over thirty years ago, but humankind's ability to make the same mistakes in different locations is incredible.
May 17, 2018
I have loved Tony Hillerman's Navajo novels for years so took a risk to listen to this stand-alone, non-Navajo-character audio book for a drive. It was a good decision! It was refreshing to listen to a well-written tale of war, family struggles, a personal search for identity, interesting characters on a quest, a baby trapped in the disintegrating environment of the collapse of Saigon and the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, a wise priest, a budding love story -- and all without graphic violence, sex, or profanity! The audio production was excellent too. I don't give out 5 stars very often, but this was close.
September 26, 2015
This book seemed to take FOREVER for me to read. Usually I have trouble putting down a book when I should be doing other things, such as going to bed at night. I didn't have that issue with this one.
August 7, 2018
This Hillerman is often sadly overlooked as it takes place largely in Vietnam and is not part of the Leaphorn and Chee pantheon. It deserves to be read!
September 17, 2023
Moon has less faith in himself than his younger brother has in him. Unfortunately, his brother dies but in going to find his brother's daughter in Vietnam, he meets a lot of people who have heard from his brother how awesome he is. His adventure includes some interesting characters, especially Mr. Lee. And Moon does find himself...and a lot more.
April 11, 2019
In Finding Moon by Tony Hillerman, the time is 1975 during the Vietnam War. We meet Malcolm “Moon� Mathias, a news reporter at a small newspaper company. During the beginning of the novel we find out that Moon’s brother, Ricky, died in a helicopter crash. While Moon’s mother was going to Manila she suffers a heart attack, one look through her papers shows that Ricky had a Vietnamese wife who also died in the crash, and a daughter who is still in Southeast Asia. Moon now has to find his niece. Along the way Moon meets many different characters, Lum Lee a Chinese an elderly friend / business associate of Ricky who is looking to find his ancestor’s bones in an urn, a and a Dutch-Indonesian woman named Osa van Winjgaarden who’s looking for her Christian mercenary brother in Cambodia. The three of them have to hurdle obstacles and make it to the Mekong Delta and along the way as the title suggests, he finds himself.
First thing I liked about this book was the well done history of the region of Southeast Asia. Tony Hillerman nailed the mentions of the fall of South Vietnam as well as the problems going on at Cambodia at the time with the Khmer Rouge. How it affected Moon’s story was also really well done, it was there but realistic and not overly dramatized. I enjoyed the supporting characters of Osa and Lum Lee as well. Their characters get fairly developed and are not stereotypical in any way. They are realistic and relatable. Another thing that is simple but great, nothing is really overdone. No excess violence or romance, there is a really nice balance of different themes.
The first negative that comes to mind however, is the pacing. It is too slow in the first three-quarters of the book, I usually do not mind slower paced books but this one felt too slow. I think the main reason for this slowness however is due to Moon Mathias. Moon Mathias is too passive for his own good, let alone as the main character. I find it interesting that because of his inaction the troubles around him pile up on top of each other but it slows down the book too much. His self discovery was not all that well done sadly, I would have much preferred if he found himself through action than being told. Another thing about this book that bothers me is the ending. It just falls into place too perfectly. Everyone finds what they are looking for in the last couple pages. I appreciate the happy ending Hillerman gave the characters but it was just too perfect and quick.
Overall I find Finding Moon by Tony Hillerman a decent book. This was my first Tony Hillerman book I have read, so I am a little disappointed but I heard great things about him so I think I will have to try another one of his books. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to learn a little more about Southeast Asia or looking for a fairly slow suspense/mystery novel.
First thing I liked about this book was the well done history of the region of Southeast Asia. Tony Hillerman nailed the mentions of the fall of South Vietnam as well as the problems going on at Cambodia at the time with the Khmer Rouge. How it affected Moon’s story was also really well done, it was there but realistic and not overly dramatized. I enjoyed the supporting characters of Osa and Lum Lee as well. Their characters get fairly developed and are not stereotypical in any way. They are realistic and relatable. Another thing that is simple but great, nothing is really overdone. No excess violence or romance, there is a really nice balance of different themes.
The first negative that comes to mind however, is the pacing. It is too slow in the first three-quarters of the book, I usually do not mind slower paced books but this one felt too slow. I think the main reason for this slowness however is due to Moon Mathias. Moon Mathias is too passive for his own good, let alone as the main character. I find it interesting that because of his inaction the troubles around him pile up on top of each other but it slows down the book too much. His self discovery was not all that well done sadly, I would have much preferred if he found himself through action than being told. Another thing about this book that bothers me is the ending. It just falls into place too perfectly. Everyone finds what they are looking for in the last couple pages. I appreciate the happy ending Hillerman gave the characters but it was just too perfect and quick.
Overall I find Finding Moon by Tony Hillerman a decent book. This was my first Tony Hillerman book I have read, so I am a little disappointed but I heard great things about him so I think I will have to try another one of his books. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to learn a little more about Southeast Asia or looking for a fairly slow suspense/mystery novel.
May 8, 2017
This is NOT a Jim Chee book, I saw the name Tony Hillerman, and thought it was, especially because of the cover. Once I started reading, I realized, that years ago I had done the same thing, and read this book before. Having been in SEA when Saigon fell, I remember well the total confusion. This book addresses some of the problems during this event. Story, a reporter has a brother running a private business in SEA, he is unaware that his younger brother has a wife and baby. His brother is killed, and they know little of how he died. Moon, the reporter gets a phone call his mother is very ill in hospital she was on her way to the Philippines to pick up the baby! Baby, what baby? Mother has had a heart attack, and it is up to Moon to go to SEA and find the baby. This is the beginning, lots of
adventures etc. etc. Will Moon go to the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam etc. to look for the baby, who is the man who says his brother was doing a job for him, is he on the up and up. Who can he trust? Have to read it to find out. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in the book, maybe not if I had not been looking forward to a Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn story. Also, pretty far fetched!
adventures etc. etc. Will Moon go to the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam etc. to look for the baby, who is the man who says his brother was doing a job for him, is he on the up and up. Who can he trust? Have to read it to find out. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in the book, maybe not if I had not been looking forward to a Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn story. Also, pretty far fetched!
January 15, 2023
This book was better than I was expecting it to be. Hillerman created a solid motivation for Moon to go to Vietnam to rescue this kid, something I was expecting to be a very weak element of the book. I really liked all of the characters and they all felt real. I especially liked Mr. Lee and the boy that comes up towards the end of the book. The story was well constructed and I think it could work really well as an action movie. That being said, the romance subplot felt forced in, just like many action movies. Overall though, the book was an enjoyable read and a nice book about an era of the Vietnam War many forms of media don’t typically cover.
June 17, 2022
Not a Leaphorn and Chee book but every bit as good. The book blurbs and many reviews say this book is about a man finding himself but I think it’s more about him finding the right people. People who see him and value him for the truly wonderful man he is. Because of their faith in him, he is able to surpass his own doubts and low expectations and become the man he would like to be. A lovely, heartwarming tale.
September 16, 2018
I absolutely love all of his books. His stories never disappoint and they keep you in suspense on who killed who and why or what happened or is going to happen!
May 23, 2019
Initially I was disappointed to discover that this is not one of Hillerman's Navaho mystery novels. I'd already read all of them. It's the title and the cover that misled me, as it looks very Navaho-ish, copyrighted in 1995.
The story is set in the 1970s, when the Americans are surrendering Vietnam to the Communists and refugees are fleeing. Moon Mathias's mother has failed in her quest to bring the baby half-Vietnamese daughter of her late son home to the U.S. Moon, deemed an aimless failure in his mother's estimate, picks up the quest because he wants to prove himself to his mother. The errand should take about three days since he has only to pick the baby up in Manila.
But complications set in. A man, hoping to find an urn of his ancestors' bones, joins the reluctant Moon. And then a young woman with a Dutch name, who wants to rescue her missionary brother from Vietnam, joins him.
Moon wants desperately to end the mission and return home, particularly when he discovers his niece is missing. His giving up would only reinforce his sense of failure in his mother's eyes, and those who join him prove to have certain talents that keep the mission on course, even as it experiences constant reversals. And we discover that Moon is the finder along the way, eventually finding himself and discovering purpose for his life.
These are people like you and me. Not super humans. Moon carries us along through his perspective, hearing the sounds of the jungle, feeling the incapacitating humidity, seeing the aftermath of war atrocities, stumbling blindly forward with the help of his companions.
The beginning and stage-setting pace is slow, with lots of talk, talk, talk. I was tempted to set the book aside. However Hillerman is a good writer who indulges the subtle in powerful ways. So I read on through the, fortunately, short chapters. Eventually, as difficulties bring Moon and his fellow travelers into the war zone, I felt for our heroes. How would they attain their goals? How would they find their way out?
The read turns out to be worthwhile and enlightening. Without gratuitous description of the soul-scarring scenarios, its understatement nevertheless gives us a sense of reality to horrors of that time.
The story is set in the 1970s, when the Americans are surrendering Vietnam to the Communists and refugees are fleeing. Moon Mathias's mother has failed in her quest to bring the baby half-Vietnamese daughter of her late son home to the U.S. Moon, deemed an aimless failure in his mother's estimate, picks up the quest because he wants to prove himself to his mother. The errand should take about three days since he has only to pick the baby up in Manila.
But complications set in. A man, hoping to find an urn of his ancestors' bones, joins the reluctant Moon. And then a young woman with a Dutch name, who wants to rescue her missionary brother from Vietnam, joins him.
Moon wants desperately to end the mission and return home, particularly when he discovers his niece is missing. His giving up would only reinforce his sense of failure in his mother's eyes, and those who join him prove to have certain talents that keep the mission on course, even as it experiences constant reversals. And we discover that Moon is the finder along the way, eventually finding himself and discovering purpose for his life.
These are people like you and me. Not super humans. Moon carries us along through his perspective, hearing the sounds of the jungle, feeling the incapacitating humidity, seeing the aftermath of war atrocities, stumbling blindly forward with the help of his companions.
The beginning and stage-setting pace is slow, with lots of talk, talk, talk. I was tempted to set the book aside. However Hillerman is a good writer who indulges the subtle in powerful ways. So I read on through the, fortunately, short chapters. Eventually, as difficulties bring Moon and his fellow travelers into the war zone, I felt for our heroes. How would they attain their goals? How would they find their way out?
The read turns out to be worthwhile and enlightening. Without gratuitous description of the soul-scarring scenarios, its understatement nevertheless gives us a sense of reality to horrors of that time.
January 17, 2022
I've just finished reading Finding Moon. Lots of action and suspense in this great read by Tony Hillerman. This is a stand-alone and not part of his Leaphorn and Chee series.
February 6, 2025
What a surprise, not a Leaphorn and Chee tale.
A very good tale of a brother braving a harrowing trip to Cambodia to fetch his infant niece.
A very good tale of a brother braving a harrowing trip to Cambodia to fetch his infant niece.
March 12, 2025
Too drawn out. Lost my interest� not set on a reservation� I think it’s a one off book by Tony.
Read
February 14, 2023Listened to the audiobook. For some reason it held my interest a lot more near the beginning. I was listening to just get a sample and continued for over an hour.
Nice character development.
Nice character development.
April 19, 2020
Think Tony Hillerman, and your head goes to New Mexico or Arizona—back to the Navajo reservation. When I downloaded this in 2016, I assumed this was just another part of that series. I was in for a major surprise because this time, Hillerman expertly and memorably escorted me to first Manila and from there to Vietnam and Cambodia. Let me try to encapsulate this whirlwind journey while I hope managing to hold your interest in reading this.
Moon Mathias has grown up in the shadow of his brother, Ricky. Worse for Moon is the fact that their mother clearly chose Ricky as the favored son. As a result, Moon grew up believing he was an also-ran—a kind of failure.
Moon is working at a Denver newspaper when the call comes in. It seems his mom has had a heart attack at the Los Angeles airport. Moon had no idea the old woman was even going to the airport, so the news came as doubly concerning. Arranging to take the necessary time off, Moon flies first to Los Angeles where his barely surviving mother drops yet another bombshell. It seems his brother has been operating an air freight business in Vietnam, and he has sired a Eurasian child. Ricky had died recently, so the news of the child came as a real slammer to both Moon and his mother. She was en route to the Philippines to claim the child and bring it to the United States. Now, it’s up to the failure son to go to the war-torn regions of Cambodia and Vietnam and tie up his brother’s loose ends, including the little girl. All this takes place in April 1975 when Saigon was falling to the North Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge was sweeping through Cambodia in its deadly slaughter.
So, if you’ve been even a casual Hillerman fan, you’re used to his vivid memorable descriptions of the deserts of the American southwest. He carries that talent into this book in grand ways. You’ll travel with Moon, first to Manila, then to Vietnam. On the way, you’ll get acquainted with some of Ricky’s friends, including a tall slender Dutch woman who more than sparks Moon’s interest. A highly decorated World War II veteran, Hillerman describes the impact of war as you might expect he can. This is historical fiction, but the former newspaper man draws heavily from actual wire service accounts of wartime atrocities as Vietnam fell and the Khmer Rouge paralyzed Cambodia.
This is also a wonderful look at family and its impact on whether an individual feels like a success or a failure. It is a lovely demonstration of the immense value of family support and the kind of confidence a family member can transmit—confidence that will change lives under the right circumstances.
Moon Mathias has grown up in the shadow of his brother, Ricky. Worse for Moon is the fact that their mother clearly chose Ricky as the favored son. As a result, Moon grew up believing he was an also-ran—a kind of failure.
Moon is working at a Denver newspaper when the call comes in. It seems his mom has had a heart attack at the Los Angeles airport. Moon had no idea the old woman was even going to the airport, so the news came as doubly concerning. Arranging to take the necessary time off, Moon flies first to Los Angeles where his barely surviving mother drops yet another bombshell. It seems his brother has been operating an air freight business in Vietnam, and he has sired a Eurasian child. Ricky had died recently, so the news of the child came as a real slammer to both Moon and his mother. She was en route to the Philippines to claim the child and bring it to the United States. Now, it’s up to the failure son to go to the war-torn regions of Cambodia and Vietnam and tie up his brother’s loose ends, including the little girl. All this takes place in April 1975 when Saigon was falling to the North Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge was sweeping through Cambodia in its deadly slaughter.
So, if you’ve been even a casual Hillerman fan, you’re used to his vivid memorable descriptions of the deserts of the American southwest. He carries that talent into this book in grand ways. You’ll travel with Moon, first to Manila, then to Vietnam. On the way, you’ll get acquainted with some of Ricky’s friends, including a tall slender Dutch woman who more than sparks Moon’s interest. A highly decorated World War II veteran, Hillerman describes the impact of war as you might expect he can. This is historical fiction, but the former newspaper man draws heavily from actual wire service accounts of wartime atrocities as Vietnam fell and the Khmer Rouge paralyzed Cambodia.
This is also a wonderful look at family and its impact on whether an individual feels like a success or a failure. It is a lovely demonstration of the immense value of family support and the kind of confidence a family member can transmit—confidence that will change lives under the right circumstances.
January 26, 2020
I'm not a Tony Hillerman fan. Which doesn't mean I actively don't like his stuff, it's just that I don't like it enough to seek it out.
My mom gave this book to my husband, and since he was in the middle of another eight books at the moment, I grabbed it and gave it a go. It was a quick read - got through it in two or three days.
What I liked about it was the sort of effortless writing style. No bells and whistles. No overly flowery shit.
What I didn't like about it was the effortless plot... it was just sort of assumed that, despite war in foreign countries, spies, bombs, guns, the main character was going to win in the end. It never really felt intense to me. When an engine broke down, someone was automatically there who could fix engines. When a child was missing in a war torn country, you just hopped on a plane and went to get them. And actually got them. That sort of thing.
Meh.
My mom gave this book to my husband, and since he was in the middle of another eight books at the moment, I grabbed it and gave it a go. It was a quick read - got through it in two or three days.
What I liked about it was the sort of effortless writing style. No bells and whistles. No overly flowery shit.
What I didn't like about it was the effortless plot... it was just sort of assumed that, despite war in foreign countries, spies, bombs, guns, the main character was going to win in the end. It never really felt intense to me. When an engine broke down, someone was automatically there who could fix engines. When a child was missing in a war torn country, you just hopped on a plane and went to get them. And actually got them. That sort of thing.
Meh.
August 17, 2020
I understand that Hillerman probably got tired of writing about Leaphorn and Chee, and I accept that he wanted to explore another set of characters and setting, but his lead in this has all the emotionally-clueless-male thing going on, without any of the cultural exploration or more interesting women. Worse, the "solution" in this novel is a kind of Rambo-lite expedition into then collapsing South Vietnam, which I just couldn't connect to. The writing is fine, and the action moves along well enough, but plot is entirely predictable and comes to such a nice tidy ending that just I had to chuckle. I would not say it is a waste of time, but if you like the Leaphorn/Chee series, you won't miss anything by skipping this.
April 4, 2018
A gentle sort of international thriller, and more effective than many of the genre as a result. Might actually class it as an adventure story rather than thriller. What really sets it apart is Hillerman's writing, which is a couple of notches above the usual for this type of book. Some of the criticisms about its simplicity and the unvaried nature of the main characters may be valid. Once again, the quality of the writing overwhelms the quibbles, as does the avoidance of the usual violence and nearly impossible skills of the heroes in other books.
Possibly some very faint echoes of Buchan, Hammett and Le Carre here, and maybe even Greene, but really all Hillerman.
Possibly some very faint echoes of Buchan, Hammett and Le Carre here, and maybe even Greene, but really all Hillerman.
March 27, 2019
Really good. The story is about family, self image, others' view of one, and how we deal with that when we finally open our eyes.
Moon considers himself a failure, and has to truly confront that when he finds himself dealing with a family emergency. It's kind of a perfect storm of emergencies that put him in a place with people who bring out a part of him he didn't know existed. I won't give you any more than that.
This isn't a Tribal Police book. It's written nothing like those. There is action, but the style, Hillerman's voice, is quite different. Not better, but maybe parallel. I liked it and recommend it. Just don't expect Joe Leaphorn or Jim Chee. They aren't there.
Moon considers himself a failure, and has to truly confront that when he finds himself dealing with a family emergency. It's kind of a perfect storm of emergencies that put him in a place with people who bring out a part of him he didn't know existed. I won't give you any more than that.
This isn't a Tribal Police book. It's written nothing like those. There is action, but the style, Hillerman's voice, is quite different. Not better, but maybe parallel. I liked it and recommend it. Just don't expect Joe Leaphorn or Jim Chee. They aren't there.
March 10, 2023
Sort of a mystery ... I loved all Hillerman's Navaho books and like others here picked this one up thinking it was another. It is completely different, set in VietNam at the winding down of the American involvement in the war there. But the writing is as good, the characters as well developed, the sense of place just as strong. My only quibble was that after 300 pages of challenges and nothing going right, suddenly at the end everything falls into place and all of the main characters find what they were seeking. A little too neat and happy ending-ish, but still a very strong book.
March 20, 2018
This book was a good change of pace in the Tony Hillerman collection. I found the characters to be quite relatable and believable. The pace of the book was pretty good I felt, maybe even better than many of the usual Hillermans, which are rather prosaic upon occasion.
Be aware that readers will need to have a pretty good knowledge of South Asian geography in order to follow this book. Knowledge of the politics and players of the Vietnam War is also a must. I had to read up on some of these topics in order to understand many of the critical portions of the story.
Be aware that readers will need to have a pretty good knowledge of South Asian geography in order to follow this book. Knowledge of the politics and players of the Vietnam War is also a must. I had to read up on some of these topics in order to understand many of the critical portions of the story.
January 12, 2022
Finding Moon is a book set in 1976 during the Fall of Saigon. There were three people who united together on a quest to find lost items; a baby, an urn of a family member's bones and a brother. The three people went into the forests of Cambodia where the Khmer Rouge were brutally killing entire villages of people on their personal quests. The book from the beginning through the end captured the horrific challenges that were involved in the individual quests in a believable well described story. Four stars were awarded in this review.
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