After serving in the U.S. Army, novelist Tony Hillerman attended the University of Oklahoma. He graduated with a masters in journalism. He then went on to teach at the University of New Mexico in 1966. His writing is well known for his attention to detail of the culture of Native Americans. By reading of his novels, his interest in the American Southwest, and the people of that area becomes obvious. He created characters Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, which eventually gave way to his popular series of mystery novels centered on these two characters.

The stories of Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee are set in the Four Corners area of Arizona and New Mexico. Hillerman began their tales in 1970, and continues on until 2006. There are eighteen novels in that series. The second novel in the series, Dance Hall of the Dead, won him the prestigious Edgar Award in 1974. He won a second Edgar Award for his novel A Thief of Time. He also claims the MWA’s Grand Master Award and the Nero Award.

Tony Hillerman also wrote a few novels that were not part of a series. The novel The Fly on the Wall, is about a political reporter who finds that his life is in jeopardy as he searches for corruption. His 1995 novel, Finding Moon, follows a young man on his search to find his brother's lost child. Hillerman also wrote seven works of non-fiction. Most of those works centered around the New Mexico and Arizona histories.