A Thief of Time [Hardcover]

Tony Hillerman (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: MYSTERY GUILD (1999)
• ISBN-10: 1581651058
• ISBN-13: 978-1581651058
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,151,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tony Hillerman was the former president of the Mystery Writers of America and received its Edgar® and Grand Master awards. His other honors include the Center for the American Indian's Ambassador Award, the Silver Spur Award for the best novel set in the West, and the Navajo Tribe's Special Friend Award. He lived with his wife in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful mix of mystery and history., February 14, 1999

By 

Wayne Collier - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thief of Time: A Novel (Turtleback)

Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police join forces in Hillerman's imaginative series on crimes occurring in or around the four corners country of the Southwest. Leaphorn and Chee track down a killer and along the way travel throughout the vast Navajo nation imparting arcane data on Native American pots, shards, and rituals.

Leaphorn and Chee's murder investigation touches on the "thieves of time;" those persons who desecrate and often destroy Native American archaeological sites in their fervor to collect ancient artifacts. The officers decipher clues leading to the identity of a killer who leaves bodies at Anasazi sites which have been looted. The interchange between Leaphorn and Chee, both said and unsaid, forms the main contrast in this book. Both men are interesting but Leaphorn is a more complex person; an aging Indian nearing the end of his career.

Known as the ancient ones, the Anasazi have been the subject of numerous studies by academia as to their origin and demise ranging from speculation to sober reality. The end result is conjecture although Hillerman is able to touch on the Anasazi lifestyle and history with a sure and steady hand.

There are more than 140,000 Native American sites registered within the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Registration is required and approval is needed from the U. S. Government before digging can be undertaken by archaeologists at any of these sites. Unfortunately, the vast majority of sites are unidentified and thus unregistered. If they are identified, they are often unprotected and subject to vandalism by anyone.

Many of the unregistered sites are located on private land allowing the owner or others to remove aritifacts under cover of law. Some Indian artifact stores in the Southwest have knowingly bought stolen artifacts but the proof required to convict the owners is often lacking.

Hillerman introduces a reader to more than murder within the pages of his books. The various facets of the investigation opens the door to a reader's mind. Hillerman's main purpose is to educate a reader to the Navajo and Hopi tribes; their rituals, their people, and the gentle pace of their hard won existence.

Read Hillerman's series of books on Leaphorn and Chee. You'll become as addicted as millions of other readers have.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vastly Entertaining, July 13, 2001

By 

Leah Jesse "Giggling Archaeologist" (Victoria, B.C., Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Thief of Time (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the first Hillerman novel I picked up and it won't be my last. The story centres around the unexplained disappearance of an anthropologist who is suspected of being a 'thief of time' or pot hunter. While Lt. John Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee look for the missing person, recent dead bodies are discovered at plundered sites. It's up to Leaphorn and Chee to find out who's causing all this destruction before they find another body.

As an anthropology student, I liked Hillerman's detailed research and his obvious respect of the Navajo Nation. As a mystery reader, I liked the police story line and how it fit quite nicely with Hillerman's anthropological angle. Great read and I hope to read more from this exceptional author.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Theif of Time, April 30, 2000

By 

John O. Shambra (Los Angeles, Ca.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Thief of Time (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

Having spent 30 years in Law Enforcement, and knowing forensics, and how much down and dirty investigating goes into solving a crime, and having a keen interest in Archeaology, I felt that Mr. Hillerman is a master of combining police work, Archeaology, suspense into one believable mystery. His intertwining of Indian culture, and modern day police work is ingenious. I have read all of his books twice or more. I love them.

Mystery Buffs should not miss Hillerman's work.