There’s something to be said about working as a journalist before writing novels. You get into the habit of writing and you learn out to describe people and scenery to give them life. He did his research to ensure that his characters lived in his novels.

He knew how to tell a story.

Someone I know who is Native American says that Hillerman is the only white man he ever knew who really “got” the fact that the Native Americans of the Southwest were distinct nations and distinct cultures. He approved greatly of Hillerman’s writing, though he was quick to add that Hillerman deliberately changed details of various ceremonies in order to protect the privacy of the people who did them.

And yes, pretty much any mystery writer worth his salt has swiped some of Hillerman’s interactions between street cops and Feds for their own novels. (Self included).

So anyhow, my recommendations to those of you who have not experienced Hillerman’s work: Start at the beginning. The first novel is good. The second novel, Dance Hall of the Dead, is simply brilliant. And the next nine novels after that don’t lose a lot over that high point in Hillerman’s literary career. After that he slowly fades away, but he never really got bad, in the way of some writers who are just churning things out for beer money, he just got old.

– Badtux the Mystery Penguin