The Shape Shifter by Tony Hillerman

The Shape Shifter by Tony Hillerman

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

"With The Shape Shifter, Hillerman once again proves himself the master of Southwest mystery fiction, working in a Hemingway-esque tradition of pared-down writing to bring the rugged Southwest into focus."--Santa Fe New Mexican

Legendary Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is drawn back into the past to solve a cold case that has haunted him for nearly a decade in this atmospheric and twisting mystery infused with the Native American culture and lore of the desert Southwest.

Though he's officially retired from the Navajo Tribal Police, Joe Leaphorn occasionally helps his former colleagues Jim Chee and Bernie Manuelito crack particularly puzzling crimes. 

But there is that rare unsolved investigation that haunts every lawman, including the legendary Leaphorn. Joe still hasn't let go of his "last case"--a mystery involving a priceless Navajo rug that was supposedly destroyed in a fire. Nine years later, what looks like the same one-of-a-kind rug turns up in a magazine spread, and the man who showed Joe the photo has gone missing.

With Chee and Bernie on their honeymoon, Leaphorn plunges into the case solo, picking up the threads of this crime he'd long thought impossible to solve. Not only has the passage of time obscured the details, but a murderer long thought dead continues to roam free--and is ready to strike again to keep the past buried.

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.