Any discussion of Hillerman must take into consideration his significant contribution to the genre, his placement of the detective story in a setting that would initially seem alien to its premises, and his informed portrayal of how different cultures are not like mainstream ones and yet have a validity and a vitality of their own.

1. Hillerman's stories are always closely tied to the realities of Southwestern life, for instance, the devastating health effects of everything from chemical pollution to fleas on the native population or the psychological-spiritual impact of the desecration of native sites. What real events inspired the story? Check the accounts in the national news magazines for 1998 to get the facts. What special features of these events does Hillerman bring to his fictionalized account?

2. Critics have argued that in the Native American detective story the region itself is as important as any character in...