Tony Hillerman (May 27, 1925 – October 26, 2008) was an award-winning American author of detective novels and non-fiction works best known for his Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels. Several of his works have been adapted as big-screen and television movies. 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, meeting Marie Unzner, a student in microbiology. The couple wed and have one biological child and five adopted children. From 1948–62, he worked as a journalist, then moved his family to Albuquerque where he earned a master's degree from the University of New Mexico in 1966. It was during his time as a writer for the Borger News-Herald in Borger, Texas that he became acquainted with the sheriff of Hutchinson County, the man upon whom he would pattern the main character in his Joe Leaphorn novels. He taught journalism from 1966 to 1987 at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and also began writing novels. He lived there with his wife Marie until his death in 2008. At the time of his death, they had been married 60 years and had ten grandchildren. Hillerman's writing is noted for the cultural details he provides about his subjects: Hopi, Zuni, European-American, federal agents, and especially Navajo Tribal Police. His works in nonfiction and in fiction reflect his appreciation of the natural wonders of the American Southwest and his appreciation of its people, particularly the Navajo. His mystery novels are set in the Four Corners area of New Mexico and Arizona, sometimes reaching into Colorado and Utah, with occasional forays to the big cities of Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and New York City.
My Opinion: I have not read any of his stories in quite a few years but remember enjoying them. I love stories that discuss and describe American Indian culture. I recommend him to you.
The Blessing Way (1970); ISBN 0-06-011896-2
Listening Woman (1978); ISBN 0-06-011901-2
People Of Darkness (1980); ISBN 0-06-011907-1
The Dark Wind (1982); ISBN 0-06-014936-1
The Ghostway (1984); ISBN 0-06-015396-2
Skinwalkers (1986); ISBN 0-06-015695-3
A Thief of Time (1988); ISBN 0-06-015938-3
Talking God (1989); ISBN 0-06-016118-3
Coyote Waits (1990); ISBN 0-06-016370-4
Sacred Clowns (1993); ISBN 0-06-016767-X
The Fallen Man (1996); ISBN 0-06-017773-X
The First Eagle (1998); ISBN 0-06-017581-8
Hunting Badger (1999); ISBN 0-06-019289-5
The Wailing Wind (2002); ISBN 0-06-019444-8
The Sinister Pig (2003); ISBN 0-06-019443-X
Skeleton Man (2004); ISBN 0-06-056344-3
The Shape Shifter (2006); ISBN 978-0-06-056345-5 X
In 2013, Hillerman's daughter, Anne, published the first new novel since 2006 featuring Hillerman's Navajo Police characters, Spider Woman's Daughter (ISBN 0062270486); the novel's protagonist is Jim Chee's wife, Officer Bernadette Manuelito. Her second bookRock With Wings (ISBN 0062270516) was released in 2015.
The Joe Leaphorn Mysteries: Three Classic Hillerman Mysteries Featuring Lt. Joe Leaphorn: The Blessing Way, Dance Hall of the Dead, Listening Woman (1989); ISBN 0-06-016174-4
The Jim Chee Mysteries: Three Classic Hillerman Mysteries Featuring Officer Jim Chee: People of Darkness, The Dark Wind, The Ghostway (1990); ISBN 0-06-016478-6
The first appearance of Jim Chee in the Leaphorn-Chee series is in People of Darkness. In these three books, Joe Leaphorn is only briefly mentioned once, as "Captain Leaphorn at the Chinle substation" (POD, ch. 6). In the later books, where he is again prominent along with Jim Chee, he is "Lieutenant Leaphorn."
Tony Hillerman: Three Jim Chee Mysteries: People of Darkness, The Dark Wind, The Ghostway (1993); ISBN 0-517-09281-6
Leaphorn & Chee: Three Classic Mysteries Featuring Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee : Skinwalkers, A Thief of Time, Talking God (1992); ISBN 0-06-016909-5
Leaphorn & Chee: Three Classic Mysteries Featuring Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee: Skinwalkers, A Thief of Time, Talking God (2001); ISBN 0-06-018789-1
Tony Hillerman: The Leaphorn & Chee Novels: Skinwalkers, A Thief of Time, Coyote Waits (2005); ISBN 0-06-075338-2
Tony Hillerman: Leaphorn, Chee, and More: The Fallen Man, The First Eagle, Hunting Badger (2005); ISBN 0-06-082078-0
The Fly on the Wall (1971) ISBN 0-06-011897-0
Finding Moon (1995) ISBN 0-06-017772-1
The Boy Who Made Dragonfly (for children) (1972) ISBN 0-06-022312-X
Buster Mesquite's Cowboy Band (for children) (1973) ISBN 0-914001-11-6
Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir by Tony Hillerman (2001); ISBN 0-06-019445-6
The Great Taos Bank Robbery (1973); ISBN 0-8263-0306-4
The Spell of New Mexico (1976); ISBN 0-8263-0420-6
Indian Country (1987); ISBN 0-87358-432-5
Talking Mysteries (with Ernie Bulow) (1991); ISBN 0-8263-1279-9
The Tony Hillerman Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to His Life and Work by Hillerman, Martin Greenberg (1994); ISBN 0-06-017034-4
The Oxford book of American Detective Stories (1996); ISBN 0-19-508581-7
Canyon De Chelly (1998); ISBN 1-893205-25-8
Best American Mysteries of the Century (2000) ISBN 0-618-06757-4
Best of the West: An Anthology of Classic Writing from the American West (1991); ISBN 0-06-016664-9
New Omnibus of Crime (2005); ISBN 0-19-518214-6
The Mysterious West (1995); ISBN 0-06-017785-3
If you want to learn more about this author, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hillerman