Tony Hillerman, a farm boy who grew up in the small mission town of Sacred Heart, Oklahoma and attended the local boarding school for Native American girls, would eventually become famed tribal mystery writer. During World War II, Hillerman was wounded and was awarded both the Silver and Bronze stars, as well as a Purple Heart, for his commendable service as a mortarman. Upon returning home, he entered college and eventually received a bachelor's degree, which led to his career in journalism.
His journalistic pursuits took him from being a reporter in Texas in 1948 to being the editor of Santa Fe’s New Mexican newspaper for many years. In 1962, he left the day-to-day journalistic grind to pursue a new career as a professor of journalism in New Mexico. In 1980, the writing bug bit the professor and he launched his assault on the mystery-writing field. Hillerman had a fresh take on the mystery genre, combining Navajo culture on the reservation and white culture in the four corners area of the southwest.
Hillerman, who was a master of narrative, was able to set the whodunit scenes in the "Land of Enchantment" by introducing complex characters, such as tribal cop Joe Leaphorn and detective Jim Chee. Leaphorn, who was raised non-native, viewed his investigations from a traditional Anglo slant, whereas Leaphorn’s protege, Jim Chee, who was well versed in traditional Navajo culture, believed in witches, skinwalkers, and other native customs. It was from this separation of viewpoints Hillerman established the plots of his eighteen tribal mystery novels. Hillerman’s memoirs, titled “Seldom Disappointed,” would be an apt description of his fans. People who enjoyed his novels were thoroughly pleased with the tangled tales he would weave into his tribal mysteries.
