The death of Tony Hillerman in 2008, hasn't affected his book sales. Especially since his novel, “People of Darkness,” is selling big time. This Navajo story was originally published in 1980 and is being resurrected today because it was one of Hillerman's greatest. The two protagonists, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Captain Jim Chee, are detectives with the Navajo Indian Tribal Police, and appear in a series of novels.

“The People of Darkness” is about a strange cult of Indians who are dying of cancer, so have nothing to lose in carrying out their macabre plans. Hillerman chose a rather unique and strange murder weapon, mineral specimens. This is all interwoven with the Cancer Research and Treatment Center on the University of New Mexico North Campus. A crippled bacteriologist watches by her lab window and studies the actions of some of the other lab employees as they arrive and leave everyday. They reveal themselves by their repetitious actions.

On this particular morning she sees two Indians who are patients at the Center arrive separately. The first puts a suitcase on the passenger seat of his pickup truck before entering the building; the other carries a paper bag filled with something heavy and places it in the back of the truck and goes to the Center. Moments later, as the bacteriologist watches, there is a blinding white flash and the windows in the building come crashing in with the loud explosion that followed.

The first chapter of this book asks so many curious questions of the reader, it makes you wonder if they will be answered in one novel. Of course, they are, and Hillerman's unique approach to detail unravels this mystery very artfully and professionally. This is one great read. The reviews in 1980 were dynamic as they are in 2009.

The Ghostway is a story written by Tony Hillerman. It is about a Navajo named Joseph Joe who is 81 years old and lives in the Chuska Mountains. He witnesses the murder of a man in a plaid coat after doing his laundry at the Shiprock Wash O Mat.

The characters in the novel also include man in a green car named Albert who is from out of town and is looking for a man named Leroy Gorman. There is also Jim Chee who is the Tribal Policeman. It also includes many minor characters in the Navajo nation who are very tight lipped about what they see go on in their community.

Tony is a mystery author who has received many awards and lots of praise for his novels. He likes to write his novels about Native American communities in the southwest and the problems that the different tribes face. The book is about the struggle of the Navajo, trying to live a peaceful life without getting involved with the white man’s' affairs. Readers can follow along with Jim Chee as he sets off on a search that moves from a trapped ghost in an Indian dwelling to the seedy underside of L.A. to an ancient healing ceremony where death is the cure.

Even looking into the dark heart of murder and revenge, Chee does not give up easy. Readers of The Ghostway will no doubt be hooked all the way up until the books dramatic ending.

Reading is a great pastime for people of all ages, and a really good mystery novel will keep you on the edge of your seat for hours. Mysteries draw in readers, making them interested in who or what is the secret and how the mystery will be solved.

Arthur Conan Doyle, the author that created Sherlock Holmes, is one of the top mystery novelists of all time. The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of his more famous works. This novel is about a ferocious hound that haunts and terrorizes a family, creating a difficult and unusual mystery for Holmes to solve.

Murder on the Orient Express is another very popular mystery novel written by Agatha Christie. She is the creator of Hercule Poirot, a private detective who is taking a train ride while some very peculiar things are happening -- like murder. From the very start of Poirot's trip, there are unusual occurrences, and it is up to him to find out what is going on.

Edward Stratemeyer, the creator of the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Tom Swift and the Rover boys characters, also wrote some very popular mystery novels. The Tower Treasure, The House on the Cliff and The Secret of the Old Mill were the first of the Hardy Boys mystery novels.

There are many popular mystery novels written by some of the greatest authors of all time. A great mystery novel will always keep you in suspense and can also make you feel like you are a character in the story.

Like many of Tony Hillerman's books, The Wailing Wind is set in the American Southwest. The main themes are gold, human greed for gold, and the result of greed towards others. It brings together Hillerman's trademark heroes, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo tribal police force.

This novel also features lost gold mines, wailing ghosts, Navajo sacred places, and infidelity. Jim Chee has a new love life in the novel with Officer Bernadette Manuelito.
Chee and Leaphorn are investigating a disappearance and the murder of a wealthy man's wife. Eventually, they find out both cases are related to the legendary Golden Calf Mine.

Hillerman puts in his trademark ethnic insights and hilarious interplay between the two characters. The twists and turns of the plot make you want to continue reading. Some say that other Hillerman novels need to be read before this one to get the whole picture. Either way, this book brings laughter, tears, and a lot of suspense and mystery.

Hillerman has a great way of presenting his characters through their actions and dialogue. The Wailing Wind deals with existential themes like modern society vs traditional culture and the sacred vs the secular. This is a source of contention between Chee, a traditionalist, and Leaphorn, who is more of a modernist.

The Wailing Wind was met with disappointment by some fans. They claimed that the characters and language are too simple, and it is not up to the same standard as other Hillerman novels. But that is only one opinion. The only way to find out is to read it for yourself.

The greatest mystery novelists have all remembered that they can’t leave out what is the core of any good novel period. They must get you hooked in the first chapter by getting you to care what happens to the main character. Then they can begin to spill suspense, doubt and deception clues along the way to keep you guessing.

A great mystery novel must create characters that have traits you can relate to. Not necessarily ones the reader has but ones that are familiar. This applies to the hero or heroine and secondary characters. No one wants to relate to the villain so he or she can be as vicious or strange as the writer can imagine. In a good mystery a caring bond must be developed between the main character and the reader. There needs to be vulnerability about them again...that you can relate to.

A mystery reader knows going in that everything is not going to be as it seems. There are always underlying facts that show up as the tale unfolds. A really good mystery will engulf you totally in the emotions and intensity of the situation right away. If the writer can dispense the clues in a way and time that the reader does not expect, that makes for a great mystery read.

When a mystery reader gets close to the end it is bitter sweet. They are anxious to find out the answers but they really don’t want the adventure to end. A top notch mystery novel will not try to fool the reader by dropping in an implausible ending. How the book ends is as important as how it begins. When you are surprised but not fooled at the end and there have been seeds planted for the next in the series...then you know you have read a really great mystery novel.