Tony Hillerman RIP

This morning’s LA Times reports the death of mystery writer Tony Hillerman. For the uninitiated, Hillerman wrote about Navajo Tribal Police and the Navajo culture in a way that was enlightening, interesting and sympathetic. Good mysteries that were tied to the culture and land of the Navajo people.

Some writers can take genre material and make it relevant, enaging, insightful and amazing.  Hillerman was one of those.  Even if you aren’t a mystery fan, his books are worth the time. Really extraordinary writer.

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-hillerman28-2008oct28,0,5303995.story

Tony Hillerman, 83, dies; bestselling mystery author provided insight into the native people and culture of the Southwest

By Dennis McLellan
October 28, 2008

Bestselling author Tony Hillerman began writing his contemporary mystery novels set in the Navajo region of the Southwest, in part, he once said, because “they have a fascinating religious philosophy and a lot of good values.”

And, he told Newsweek magazine in 1989, “they’re the very bottom of the pecking order among Indian tribes out here. They’re the country bumpkins. And I’ve always identified with that.”

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The critically acclaimed author, whose mysteries featured two Navajo tribal policemen and were known for providing insight into the native people and culture of the Southwest, died Sunday. He was 83.