IAFS Anne Hillerman Interview

In our next installment of In Agatha's Footsteps we interview Anne Hillerman and talk about her latest“ Book the Tale Teller Continuing a Legacy
The Tale Teller merges parallel mysteries
When Ann took over the series that made her father, Tony, famous, she gave voice to the female characters in the series, bring­ing them into the mainstream narrative without taking anything away from the male characters upon whom the series was built. Hillerman wisely left the best parts of her father’s beloved characters’ storylines intact while creating compelling new additions. This time, in The Tale Teller (Harper, $26.99, 320 pages, 9780062391957), three paral­lel tales merge with unexpected results for each of the three protag­onists. Retired cop Joe Leaphorn is investigating a case that the local museum director would like to have cleared up before her imminent retirement, that of a priceless traditional Navajo dress that has gone missing. Leaphorn’s former colleague Jim Chee is involved in an in­vestigation of jewelry thefts, largely of Native American antiques. And Bernadette “Bernie” Manuelito must, somewhat reluctantly, share the stage with the FBI in the investigation of a murder on a popular run­ning trail in the Arizona desert. As is always the case with Hillerman novels (either Tony or Anne), the supernatural is never far from the reader’s mind. Witchcraft and Na­tive American lore permeate the narrative in a way that has appealed to readers for nigh on 50 years, with no end in sight.” (From Whodunit by Bruce Tierney)