Tony Hillerman Books in Order
34 books are credited to Tony Hillerman, published between 1970 and 2023; 1 of them appeared after Tony Hillerman's death in 2008. The first book is The Blessing Way (1970) and the newest is The Great Taos Bank Robbery: And Other True Stories (2023). Publication order is the reading order below. 18 of the 34 books listed here are in the Leaphorn & Chee series, which has its own page: Leaphorn & Chee books in order.
- Books
- 34
- Published
- 1970–2023
- Confirmed
- 34 of 34 titles
- Pages on record
- 7,735 in 28 of 34 books
- Reading time
- 129–193 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 7,735 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 28 of 34 titles with a page count on record.
Navajo country supplies both the setting and the subject of Tony Hillerman's mysteries, which follow reservation police and the investigators Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Hillerman's 34 catalogued books start with The Blessing Way (1970) and close in 2023. Alongside the novels sit essay collections and non-fiction on New Mexico and the Rio Grande, plus short stories and a children's title. The 1990s were the peak decade, and the catalogue is now dormant.
Hillerman worked as a journalist and wrote in clear, direct language, with an emphasis on respect between his characters and the land. He won the Edgar Award and the Grand Master Award for his work in mystery writing, and he often spoke with students about writing and tribal culture.
How many Tony Hillerman books are there?
Tony Hillerman has 34 books, released between 1970 and 2023. 1 of them were published after Tony Hillerman's death in 2008. They include 2 separate series.
Tony Hillerman Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 34 Tony Hillerman books in the order they were released, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 119703044/4
- 21971–4/4
- 31972814/4
- 4The Great Taos Bank Robbery and Other Indian Country AffairsTony Hillerman Non-Fiction #11973 · confirmed 4/41973–4/4
- 519732724/4
- 6New Mexico, Rio Grande, and Other EssaysTony Hillerman Non-Fiction #21975 · 112 pages · confirmed 4/419751124/4
- 719761134/4
- 819782894/4
- 919803364/4
- 1019823044/4
- 1119842904/4
- 1219863034/4
- 131987–4/4
- 1419871734/4
- 1519883524/4
- 1619894164/4
- 1719903524/4
- 1819915284/4
- 19Talking Mysteries: A Conversation With Tony HillermanTony Hillerman Non-Fiction #61991 · 135 pages · confirmed 4/419911354/4
- 2019912404/4
- 2119923204/4
- 2219944514/4
- 2319953194/4
- 2419963024/4
- 2519983194/4
- 2619993344/4
- 272001314/4
- 2820013684/4
- 292002–4/4
- 302003–4/4
- 312004794/4
- 3220043364/4
- 3320062764/4
- 34The Great Taos Bank Robbery: And Other True StoriesTony Hillerman Short Story #32023 · confirmed 4/42023–4/4
Tony Hillerman characters in order
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Leaphorn and Chee books in order 28 books
Tony Hillerman books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. A group whose heading is a link has its own reading-order page; the other groups have no page of their own on this site.
Leaphorn & Chee books in order
18 books by Tony Hillerman- 1. The Blessing Way
- 2. Dance Hall of the Dead
- 3. Listening Woman
- 4. People of Darkness
- 5. The Dark Wind
- 6. The Ghostway
- 7. Skinwalkers
- 8. A Thief of Time
- 9. Talking God
- 10. Coyote Waits
- 11. Sacred Clowns
- 12. The Fallen Man
- and 6 more in the table above
Tony Hillerman Non-Fiction
9 books9 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Tony Hillerman Short Story
3 books3 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Tony Hillerman Standalone Novels
2 books2 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Tony Hillerman Children's in order
2 booksTony Hillerman Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Tony Hillerman books run from The Blessing Way (1970) to The Great Taos Bank Robbery: And Other True Stories (2023), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Tony Hillerman in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Tony Hillerman books in order?
You only need to read Tony Hillerman books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
What order should you read Tony Hillerman books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with The Blessing Way (1970), the first Leaphorn and Chee book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.
What is the newest Tony Hillerman book?
The Great Taos Bank Robbery: And Other True Stories (2023) is the newest Tony Hillerman book released so far.
Is there a new Tony Hillerman book coming?
No next Tony Hillerman book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Tony Hillerman has won
Wikidata records 8 awards for Tony Hillerman. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Agatha Award for Best Non-Fiction2001Wonfor Seldom Disappointed
- Anthony Award1995Wonfor The Mysterious West
- Nero Award1991Wonfor Coyote Waits
- The Grand Master1991Won
- Macavity Awards1989Wonfor A Thief of Time
- Anthony Award for Best Novel1988Wonfor Skinwalkers
- Grand Prix de Littérature Policière1987Won
- Edgar Awards1974Wonfor Dance Hall of the Dead
Tony Hillerman at a glance
- Died
- Tony Hillerman died in 2008, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Tony Hillerman are still being published after Tony Hillerman's death in 2008; the newest appeared in 2023.
- Release pace
- Tony Hillerman books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 7,735 pages across the 28 of 34 books with a recorded length, a median of 304 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Tony Hillerman books, 10 of 34, were published in the 1990s.
- Corroboration
- 34 of the 34 titles appear in all four independent book listings.
What the Tony Hillerman books are about
32 of the 34 Tony Hillerman books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: navajo indians is tagged on 18 of 32. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Navajo Indians 18 of 32 books
- Police 17 of 32 books
- Jim Chee (Fictitious character) 16 of 32 books
- Mystery & detective 16 of 32 books
- Indian reservation police 13 of 32 books
- Lt. Leaphorn, Joe (Fictitious character) 12 of 32 books
- Indians of North America 5 of 32 books
- Pictorial works 4 of 32 books
- Chee, jim (fictitious character) 3 of 32 books
- Navajo Indians in fiction 3 of 32 books
- America, history 2 of 32 books