Dance Hall of the Dead Study Guide & Plot Synopsis

Dance Hall of the Dead Plot Summary

Preview of Dance Hall of the Dead Summary:

Dance Hall of the Dead is a detective story that takes place on Native American land. In order to find the murderer of a young Zuni boy, Navajo detective Joe Leaphorn will need to call upon his knowledge of Navajo and Zuni tradition and upon his incredible skills as a tracker. The investigation takes Lieutenant Leaphorn from the Navajo hogan of the dead boy's missing friend, George Bowlegs, to a nearby hippie commune, to an archaeological dig site and finally to a sacred lake that in Zuni tradition is called the Dance Hall of the Dead. Leaphorn's quest is to save the Bowlegs boy, who the prejudiced Zuni assume is the killer. Leaphorn believes that young Bowlegs is innocent and is also in danger of being murdered, just like his Zuni friend Ernesto Cata. Due to local prejudices against the Navajos, Leaphorn quickly realizes that he is young George's only...
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