Coyote Waits by Tony Hillerman

Coyote Waits by Tony Hillerman

The car fire didn't kill Navajo Tribal Policeman Delbert Nez--a bullet did. And the old man in possession of the murder weapon is a whiskey-soaked shaman named Ashie Pinto. Officer Jim Chee is devastated by the slaying of his good friend Del, and confounded by the prime suspect's refusal to utter a single word of confession or denial.

Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn believes there is much more to this outrage than what appears on the surface, as he and Jim Chee set out to unravel a complex weave of greed and death that involves a historical find and a lost fortune. But the hungry and mythical trickster Coyote is waiting, as always, in the shadows to add a strange and deadly new twist.

Tony Hillerman (1925-2008) was an American author of award-winning mysteries set on the Navajo Indian reservation featuring Native American policeman Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee, twelve novels of which made the New York Times bestsellers list. He also wrote several stand-alone novels, books for children, and nonfiction. His Leaphorn novels have won the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, and Macavity Award for Best Novel. His other honors include the Center for the American Indian's Ambassador Award, the Spur Award for Best Western Novel, and the Navajo Tribal Council Special Friend of the Dineh award. The Western Writers of America honored him with the Wister Award for Lifetime achievement in 2008, and was named by the Mystery Writers of America as one of mystery fiction's Grand Masters.