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.