The Rest of the Tony Hillerman Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Series
Dance Hall of the Dead: Published 1973 Read Nov 2021
The Dark Wind: Published 1982 Read May 2022
People of Darkness: Published 1980 Read May 2022, Oct 2022
Listening Woman Published 1978 Read Oct 2022
Talking God Published 1989 Read Oct 2022
The First Eagle Published 1998 Read Dec 2022
The Fallen Man Published 1996 Read Dec 2022
Sacred Clows Published 1993 Read Dec 2022
The Wailing Wind Published 2002 Read Jan 2023; sometime before 2016
The Sinister Pig Published 2003 Read Jan 2023
Hunting Badger Published 1999 Read Jan 2023
Skinwalkers Published 1987 Read Feb 2023
Skeleton Man Published 1986 Read Feb 2023
Shape Shifter Published 2006 Read Feb 2023
As discussed in Books-How They Mattered to Me This Year this author read extensively during some really difficult times. The Tony Hillerman books were a great comfort as they gave me a great mystery, a set of characters whose stories evolve a bit in each book and over the course of the series, and especially as they gave me insight into the Navajo Nation and the Navajo culture and the land on which much of it resides. The list noted above was read mainly through audiobooks with the same reader—George Guidall. His interpretation of the text and the life he gives the characters through his voice are great.
This reader has touched on Tony Hillerman books in previous blogs as this reader has frequented the author’s book occasionally for quite some time. You will note that this reader read these particular books in rapid succession, although not in chronological order of their publication. Having the same reader for the audiobook throughout the series enabled consistency which this reader greatly appreciated.
A lovey aspect of this series is that it’s not necessary to read them in order of publication, although the slowly evolving overarching story of the characters does progress with the order of publication. The reader can settle into the story rapidly whether it’s the first story with these characters or the tenth. A primary focus is the particular mystery, the secondary focus is on the land, people, and culture of the Navajo Nation, and the third is on the particular state of the story of the characters.
Tony Hillerman has authored other fiction books and a number of non-fiction books which this reader has not read—yet.
Unfortunately, the world lost Tony Hillerman in 2008. His daughter, Anne Hillerman, extended the Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernadette Manuelito series which this reader has also read and will comment on separately.
The photo shows Shiprock, an important geological monument in the Navajo Nation and for which Shiprock, the town in which the stories are set, is named
MarshaReads.com 