Melville House Books

Tony Hillerman, famed for his mystery novels set on the Navaho Indian reservation and featuring primarily Navaho characters, has died in Albuquerque, New Mexico of pulmonary failure. He was 83. As a New York Times obituary by the paper’s mystery book critic Marilyn Stasio notes, “Though the themes of his books were not overtly political, he wrote with an avowed purpose: to instill in his readers a respect for Native American culture.” Of course, Stasio also notes that “Some critics found Mr. Hillerman’s writing humorless, moralizing and too reverential toward the Native American characters he favored.”

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.