Tony Hillerman dies

Well, I'll be sorry to see no more New Mexican mysteries.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081027/ap_on_re_us/obit_tony_hillerman

I can still vividly remember the Christmas at Mom Hansen's when Margot's cousin Mary Bogart (now Lee) recommended three New Mexican writers of value just after she had moved to New Mexico to live. Hillerman was one of them. Rudolfo A. Anaya was another. He wrote a wonderful book with a fine adolescent character and plenty of magic. And John Nichols was a third with his most widely known Milagro Beanfield War another great story.

On my birthday this year, playing poker at Foxwoods, I could only remember the name of Hillerman and recommended it to the woman playing next to me and drinking Tequila with us. She wrote down Hillerman's name to share with her sister in Albuquerque.