Skeleton Man: A Leaphorn and Chee Novel

Don’t miss the TV series, Dark Winds, based on the Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito novels, now on AMC and AMC+!  

“In his masterly reworking of this powerful myth, Hillerman creates a kachina for contemporary times. . . . No wonder Hillerman’s stories never grow old. Like myths, they keep evolving with the telling.”— New York Times Book Review

From the enduring "national and literary cultural sensation" (Los Angeles Times) Tony Hillerman, a crackling Southwest mystery of myth, mystery, and murder featuring the legendary Leaphorn and Chee.

Though he may be retired, Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn hasn’t lost his curiosity or his edge. He’s eager to help Sergeant Jim Chee and his fiancée Bernie Manuelito with their latest case—a complex police procedural to clear an innocent kid accused of robbing a trading post. 

Billy Tuve claims he received the precious diamond from a strange old man in the canyon. Could it be one of the gems that went missing in an epic plane crash decades earlier? Now that it may have resurfaced, it’s attracted dangerous strangers to the Navajo lands. 

Proving Billy’s innocence won’t be easy. Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito must find the remains of a passenger who died in the crash—one of 172 lost souls whose remains were scattered across the magnificent tiered cliffs of the Grand Canyon.

But nature may prove their deadliest adversary. To find the proof they need, the detectives must battle a thunderous monsoon and a killer as they plunge deeper into the dark realm of Hopi myth and the Lord of Death—the guardian of the underworld known as Skeleton Man.

“A grand mystery.” - Denver Post

“One of his strongest and most specific plots...amusingly wry dialogue...keenly observed detail.” - Santa Fe New Mexican

“A fascinating whodunit and a window into a rich culture . . . a gem.” - People

“A treat.” - Entertainment Weekly

“Considerable suspense in the race to the bottom of one of the most spectacular and treacherous landscapes Hillerman’s ever explored.” - Kirkus Reviews

“A rip-roaring adventure tale, partially set in the treacherous downward slopes of the Grand Canyon, and a character-driven mystery. . . . Another Hillerman stunner.” - Booklist (starred review)