The Tony Hillerman Portal (University of New Mexico College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences) ENTRY: HILLERMAN, TONY (1925–2008) (Oklahoma Historical Society) ENTRY: Tony Hillerman American novelist (Encyclopaedia Britannica) See also: Tony Hillerman ( 2 books reviewed) If it perhaps takes Chee and Leaphorn to put the pieces together here, the procedural mechanics are first rate and, as always, the unique setting and the culture the tale is immersed in make for a first-rate adventure. This has brought him into conflict with an Anglo doctor who runs a medical clinic on the reservation, but whose methods include using bogus forms of Navajo medicine. The skinwalkers of the title are those who use 'medicine' for evil purposes, whereas Chee is learning to be a yataalii medicine man and perform cleansing rituals like the Blessing Way.

Be he gradually realizes that the attack may tie into a series of murders that have been bothering him-points on a reservation map that he can't quite connect. Leaphorn harbors immediate suspicions because cops who are subject to vendettas tend to be corrupt. The novel opens with a literal bang as someone fires a shotgun into Chee's trailer, narrowly missing him thanks to warning from the feral cat he's semi-adopted. Skinwalkers, which Robert Redford and PBS turned into a disappointing entry in the Mystery franchise, features the first meeting of his two heroes: the older, more hard-boiled, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and the idealist and more religious Jim Chee. Leaphorn and Chee must unravel a complex plot involving an historical find, a lost fortune…and the mythical Coyote, who is always waiting, and always hungry.Tony Hillerman's Navajo police procedurals are so reliable that I've never hesitated to add them to my bookshelf, but have then parcelled them out over the years when I want a guaranteed good read. Ashie Pinto is quickly arrested for homicide, but Pinto won’t utter a word of confession or denial. When two corpses appear amid stolen goods and bones at an ancient burial site, Leaphorn and Chee must plunge into the past to unearth the astonishing truth behind a mystifying series of horrific murders.Ĭoyote Waits: It wasn’t the car fire that killed Navajo Tribal Policeman Delbert Nez. Chee survives to join partner Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn in a frightening investigation that takes them into a dark world of ritual, witchcraft, and blood-all tied to the elusive and evil “skinwalker.”Ī Thief of Time: A noted anthropologist vanishes at a moonlit Indian ruin where “thieves of time” ravage sacred ground for profit.

Skinwalkers: Three shotgun blasts explode into the trailer of Officer Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police.

Three of New York Times bestselling author Tony Hillerman’s most popular novels-a must-have anthology from one of the great masters of suspense.

Skinwalkers by Tony Hillerman