A dying man is murdered. A rich man's wife agrees to pay three thousand dollars for the return of a stolen box of rocks. A series of odd, inexplicable events is haunting Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police and drawing him alone into the Bad Country of the merciless Southwest, where nothing good can survive . . . including Chee. Because an assassin waits for him there, protecting a thirty-year-old vision that greed has sired and blood has nourished. And only one man will walk away.

Review

"He makes the desert come, alive." -- -- Denver Post
"Hillerman . . . is in a class by himself." -- -- Los Angeles Times
"Hillerman deserves to be included in any list of the best living mystery writers." -- -- Dallas Morning News
"Hillerman gets better with every book." -- -- San Francisco Chronicle
"Hillerman is an expert puzzle-maker." -- -- The Atlantic
"Hillerman is surely one of the finest and most original craftsmen at work in the genre today." -- -- The Boston Globe
"Hillerman's mysteries are unique in American crime fiction." -- -- Los Angeles Times
"Readers who have not discovered Hillerman should not waste one minute more." -- -- Oklahoma City Oklahoman
"The only mysteries I read are Hillerman's." -- -- Ursula K. Le Guin
"This series of Southwestern mysteries from Tony Hillerman is superb." -- -- Daily News
"Whatever your pleasure, you can't go wrong with this gifted, skillful and . . . unique writer." -- -- San Diego Union

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.