Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. His writing has brought pleasure and interest to several people in my own family -- my mother, my husband, and myself. We all read everything he wrote, and looked eagerly forward to each new novel.

I heard an interview with him once. When he submitted his first novel to a publisher, he got back a comment that it was not a bad mystery story, but to ditch all that Indian stuff if he ever wanted to get published.

Rosefolly

I was so sad to see this in my morning paper. I'm a huge Hillerman fan; I've read all his novels and much of his non-fiction. I'm sad to think there will be no more Joe Leaphorn or Jim Chee stories.

Thanks for the link, chris. I found a very similar piece in The International Herald Tribune.

What a great storyteller he was.

I am sad to hear this news, too. Hillerman could tell a riveting story without resorting to violence, sex or bad language - a rarity these days. One of the best.

I,too, am sorry to hear of his death. I've been a fan of his works since I first encountered Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee several years ago. Sadly, there aren't any more to look forward to.

His books were some of the few adult books that I didn't mind suggesting to my grandchildren when they got interested in reading something better than kiddie stuff.

I really enjoyed his view of the west. It was so different from what I see in my section of the country.

He will be missed!