from the Arizona Republic

Hillerman, author of Navajo series, dies

Tony Hillerman, author of the acclaimed Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels and creator of two of the unlikeliest of literary heroes – Navajo police Officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee – died Sunday of pulmonary failure in Albuquerque. He was 83.

Hillerman’s commercial breakthrough was Skinwalkers, published in 1987 – the first time he put both characters and their divergent world views in the same book. It sold 430,000 hardcover copies, paving the way for A Thief of Time, which made several best-seller lists. In all, he wrote 18 books in the Navajo series. 

Hillerman wrote more than 30 books; the memoir, Seldom Disappointed; and books on the history and natural beauty of his beloved Southwest.

Hillerman is survived by his wife, Marie, and their six children.

[ click to read at AZCentral.com ]