Order of Tony Hillerman Books
Tony Hillerman (1925-2008) was an American author who wrote several different kinds of books. He is best known for his Leaphorn and Chee detective fiction series. Most of his books revolve around Native American and Southwestern themes. Hillerman also wrote a couple of standalone books, two children’s books, several non-fiction books and some photo books. His books The Dark Wind, Skinwalkers, Coyote Waits and A Thief of Time have all be adapted to film. Tony is the father of author Anne Hillerman, who has taken over his Leaphorn and Chee series following his death in 2008.
Tony Hillerman started writing back in 1970 with The Blessing Way and continued basically up to his death in 2008. Below is a list of Tony Hillerman’s books in order of when they were published (which is also their chronological order):
Publication Order of Leaphorn & Chee Books
(with Anne Hillerman)
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| The Fly on the Wall | (1971) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Finding Moon | (1995) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Short Story Collections
| The Best of the West | (1991) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Mysterious West | (1994) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Great Taos Bank Robbery: And Other True Stories | (2023) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Children's Books
| The Boy Who Made Dragonfly | (1972) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Buster Mesquite's Cowboy Band | (2001) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
| The Great Taos Bank Robbery and Other Indian Country Affairs | (1973) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| New Mexico, Rio Grande, and Other Essays | (1975) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Spell of New Mexico | (1976) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Tony Hillerman's Indian Country Map and Guide | (1987) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Indian Country | (1987) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Talking Mysteries: A Conversation With Tony Hillerman | (1991) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Hillerman Country | (1991) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Seldom Disappointed | (2001) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Kilroy Was There | (2004) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Anthologies
| The Perfect Murder | (1991) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| 2nd Culprit | (1993) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories | (1996) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Serpent's Tongue: Prose, Poetry, and Art of the New Mexican Pueblos | (1997) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| First Cases, Volume 3 | (1999) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| A Century of Great Suspense Stories | (2001) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Longman Anthology of Detective Fiction | (2004) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| A New Omnibus of Crime | (2005) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Notes: Starting with Spider Woman’s Daughter, the Leaphorn & Chee series is being written by Anne Hillerman. For more novels in the series, please see Leaphorn & Chee. The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century was edited with series editor Otto Penzler. The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories and A New Omnibus of Crime were edited with Rosemary Herbert.
If You Like Tony Hillerman Books, You’ll Love…
Tony Hillerman Synopses: The Blessing Way is the first Leaphorn & Chee novel by Tony Hillerman. The victim found in a high, isolated location – a corpse with a mouth full of sand – abandoned at a crime scene that appears to be devoid of tracks or useful clues is particularly troubling. Although homicide is always an abhorrent crime, there is something particularly troubling about the victim. Despite the fact that it goes against his better judgment, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Tribal Police cannot help but suspect the involvement of a supernatural killer.
Leaphorn’s search for a Wolf-Witch takes him where even the bravest men fear to go – a chilling path that veers dangerously between mysticism and murder. There is a palpable evil in the air.
The Fly on the Wall is a standalone novel by Tony Hillerman. John Cotton, a top-notch reporter, observes everything, hears everything, and stays hidden. But when he finds the body of his best friend lying on the marble floor of the U.S. Capitol’s central rotunda, the game changes. Suddenly, Cotton has too much information about a murder, a million-dollar scam, and a scandal involving a senatorial candidate. He also hears the pursuing footsteps of powerful people who want to keep their secrets a secret and are willing to kill for it.
Finding Moon by Tony Hillerman is a standalone title. Moon Mathias, a journalist, sets out into the turmoil of Southeast Asia in 1975 to find his brother’s child. His search takes him from Manila to the Cambodian jungles and leads him on a dangerous trail of smuggling, conspiracy, and possible murder.
In The Great Taos Bank Robbery and Other Indian Country Affairs, Tony Hillerman puts together some classic stories of contemporary New Mexican life in a collection that makes you laugh, shake your head, and eventually learn and appreciate more about New Mexico and its people.
HI!
I am bearing GREAT NEWS! I contacted you a few months ago as I had a yen to listen to all of the Tony Hillerman books in order, to follow with all of the available Anne Hillerman books. (Which in my opinion are every bit as great as her dad’s books!)
I was so disappointed, I thought I had all of them, but really had very few between Audible and Apple audiobooks bought long ago.
I could not find any place to listen to these books for free, which is so appropriate for me right now.
This week I was told about the app HOOPLA. My local library (where I have a Libby app) supports HOOPLA and I just found ALL of the Tony Hillerman books there, and Anne’s as well. I am so excited!
For some reason Coyote Waits is only available in e-book form, but that’s great, that it is only one book.
So…there may be others like me, really wanting to re-run all of these fabulous books.
Thanks for all your hard work. I refer to your lists all the time. I tell my friends as well.
Sincerely, Maureen Benet
Bend, Oregon USA
Nice to see all of this information about Tony Hillerman. My older brother told me about him about in ~2014. I was born in N Mexico but only lived there 6 years. My brother lived there ~15 years. He was more interested in NM and the west than I. When I went back to see my fathers ranch, I called him for some information. When I told him what I had been reading, he told me about Hillerman. Strangely, I just now looked up his writings. Will be buying soon.
The Tony Hillerman Companion as well as The Great Taos Bank Robbery and Other Indian Country Affairs, Rio Grande, New Mexico, The Spell of New Mexico and Indian Country are not listed above.
Just wanted to point out a couple typos above. Coyote Winds should be Coyote Waits, and Blessing Wind should be Blessing Way. Thanks for listing Mr. Hillerman’s books. I’ve read most of them over the years, but would love to read them again in order.
Was so sad at this man’s passing
It may never be the same, but at least his characters live on with his daughter’s work. We’ll have a page up for Anne in the not too distant future, but for now you can get the whole series by visiting the Leaphorn & Chee character page at http://www.orderofbooks.com/characters/leaphorn-and-chee/.
His daughter wrote a good book, keeping with leaphorn and chee characters. I thought it was very good. Like father like daughter. Hope she keeps it going.
I think she will keep going. Don’t take that as a critique of her work on my part – I hope she does a great job carrying on her father’s legacy.
I agree, she did a great job. Really enjoyed the read. I look forward to more books from her.