Tony Hillerman

Witchcraft seems to be involved in the death of a Navajo whose body has been found in Many Ruins Canyon, and Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is charged with the task of solving the crime. Reissue.

The Blessing Way

Colleen

I read a few of this series several years ago and enjoyed them. I wanted to go back and read them from the beginning and in order. 

The Blessing Way is the first of the Navajo Detective series. It was very short and not as fleshed out as some of Hillerman's later books though still very engaging. The character of Joe Leaphorn was barely in this book, although he becomes the central character later on. Having read these out of order though, it was surprising that the story focused much more on Anthropologist Bergen McKee than on Leaphorn.

What I really like about this series is the cultural setting. While so many mystery/crime series are set in big cities, these are set in Navajo territory. This brings a refreshing backdrop of both scenic descriptions and cultural insights. I think Hillerman did a good job of being respectful of Native American traditions and incorporating them into the story in an interesting way. I understand it was fairly groundbreaking at the time. I don't think too many people were writing fiction about Native Americans in the 70's. Hillerman was famously rejected and told to "get rid of all that Indian stuff." Thankfully, he stuck to his guns and got published anyway.

I look forward to reading more of the series.

The Blessing Way

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