Tony Hillerman penned "People of Darkness", which was published in 1980, starting the popular Navajo series of books. This book introduced Navajo Policeman Sgt. Jim Chee, a complex man who is caught between his career with the F.B.I. and the ways of the Navajo shaman. This book also introduces Mary Landon, a Wisconsin girl, as a mild love interest for Chee.
In "People of Darkness", a bomb goes off in a hospital parking lot hoping to kill an unfortunate man who is dying of cancer. This story is vintage Hillerman, as the explosion is tied into an oil well explosion that occurred 30 years ago and a box that goes missing from a rich man's home. The Navajo culture plays a big role in the plot of the book. A Navajo cult called the People of Darkness, who worship the Navajo god of the underworld, also play a huge role in the story, hence the book's title.
A vast area of time and space is woven into this mystery of Hillerman's. Elements of Navajo culture and folkways are in this book. The landscapes are harsh, yet spectacular, just like nature is magnificent while being menacing. The villain killer starts taking aim at Jim Chee as he was heading up a search of the aforementioned mine explosion. Mary has joined up with Chee on this search, but the killer seems to have a problem with this, as they soon make her a target.
