Tony Hillerman, Mystery Author
How strange the world works. On Friday night, I picked up The Shape Shifter by Tony Hillerman from off of my bookshelf and started into the first couple of chapters. My father-in-law had given me the book to read several months ago but I had shelved it to finish reading some others I had purchased last year and never got to read. I was stunned to read this morning that Tony Hillerman who authored dozens of books like the one I started reading, passed away on Sunday, October 26, 2008 at the age of 83. Hillerman’s health was declining from what I have read and ultimately, he lost the battle to pulmonary failure.
Like his gritty, hard-working police officer characters, Hillerman has been fighting against the odds for years. He lived through two heart attacks, prostate surgeries and cancer of the bladder. He wrote to the very end, even has he was losing his sight and arthritis was crippling his hands.
Hillerman was the author of 18 books all centered around Navajo Tribal Police forces.
So with his passing, I am reading his book with a new interest, a new sense of appreciation for the last book he published. Part of his life was poured into those pages and the only way I can, by reading it and enjoying the power his words have.
Honor The Life of Your Loved One
Tags: author death, pulmonary failure, shape shifter, Tony Hillerman
October 27th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
No more Tony Hillerman novels. He was truly one of the greats (I consider the late Ross Thomas and the late Ed McBain to be his contemporaries) and will be incredibly missed by all of us who loved his writing and waited with anticipation for his latest book. My deepest condolences to his family, who have suffered the real loss.