Tony Hillerman
1925-
Other Works
Leaphorn and Chee: Three Classic Mysteries
Indian Country: America's Sacred Land
Navajo Mystery Writer A long-time resident of New Mexico, Tony Hillerman is noted for his detective novels featuring two Navajo police officers. One critic called him "one of the nation's most convincing and authentic interpreters of Navajo culture, as well as one of our best and most innovative mystery writers."
Restless Reporter Hillerman grew up in Oklahoma but, at the time of the Great Taos Bank Robbery, he was working as a reporter for The New Mexican. Several years later, at age 38, he wanted a change. He quit his job, got a master's degree in English, and began teaching and writing books. Since 1970, he has published more than 25 titles, mostly novels.
Collector and Visualizer Hillerman never outlines a plot ahead of time; he wants to be open to suggestions from others. In a 1995 interview, he said that "a writer is like a bag lady going through life with a sack and pointed stick collecting stuff"—that is, collecting ideas. With regard to setting, Hillerman says that he never starts a chapter without an "exact vision of the place it will happen ... the temperature, direction of the breeze, the aromas it carries, time of day, the way the light falls, the cloud formations."
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