100 books like The First Eagle

By Tony Hillerman,

Here are 100 books that The First Eagle fans have personally recommended if you like The First Eagle. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Haunting of Chatham Hollow

Joan Hall Author Of Cold Dark Night: Legends of Madeira

From my list on mystery and suspense…with a bit of legends and folklore.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always enjoyed mystery and suspense stories—Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark being two of my all-time favorite authors. Throw in some legends and folklore, and I’m hooked. I like well-crafted stories that keep me turning the pages. Those that stump me in figuring out the mystery are a plus for me. I love books with descriptive settings that place me, as the reader, in the heart of the action.

Joan's book list on mystery and suspense…with a bit of legends and folklore

Joan Hall Why did Joan love this book?

Dual-timeline, legends, and folklore drew me to this story. While it was co-authored, the dual story blends perfectly as if written by a single person. Past and present come together, and an age-old mystery is solved.

If you enjoy stories with a bit of supernatural, this one is for you. 

By Mae Clair, Staci Troilo,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Haunting of Chatham Hollow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One founding father.
One deathbed curse.
A town haunted for generations.

Ward Chatham, founder of Chatham Hollow, is infamous for two things—hidden treasure and a curse upon anyone bold enough to seek it. Since his passing in 1793, no one has discovered his riches, though his legend has only grown stronger.

In 1888, charlatan Benedict Fletcher holds a séance to determine the location of Chatham’s fortune. It’s all a hoax so he can search for the gold, but he doesn’t count on two things—Victor Rowe, a true spiritualist who sees through his ruse, and Chatham’s ghost wreaking havoc on the…


Book cover of Dead Mountain

Joan Hall Author Of Cold Dark Night: Legends of Madeira

From my list on mystery and suspense…with a bit of legends and folklore.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always enjoyed mystery and suspense stories—Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark being two of my all-time favorite authors. Throw in some legends and folklore, and I’m hooked. I like well-crafted stories that keep me turning the pages. Those that stump me in figuring out the mystery are a plus for me. I love books with descriptive settings that place me, as the reader, in the heart of the action.

Joan's book list on mystery and suspense…with a bit of legends and folklore

Joan Hall Why did Joan love this book?

Real-life mysteries intrigue me, and one of the strangest unsolved cases involved a group of nine Soviet hikers in the area known as Dyatlov Pass. Preston and Child took this story, set it in the mountains of New Mexico, and weaved an enticing tale that kept me turning the pages and guessing right up to the end.

This is the fourth book of their Nora Kelly series, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone. 

By Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Dead Mountain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 2008, nine mountaineers failed to return from a winter backpacking trip in the New Mexico mountains. At their last campsite, searchers found a bizarre scene: something had appeared at the door of their tent so terrifying that it impelled them to slash their way out and flee barefoot to certain death in a blizzard. Despite a diligent search, only six bodies were found, three violently crushed and missing eyes and tongues. The case, given the code name “Dead Mountain” by the FBI, was never solved.
 
Now, two more bodies from the lost expedition are unexpectedly discovered in a cave,…


Book cover of Fox Creek

Joan Hall Author Of Cold Dark Night: Legends of Madeira

From my list on mystery and suspense…with a bit of legends and folklore.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always enjoyed mystery and suspense stories—Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark being two of my all-time favorite authors. Throw in some legends and folklore, and I’m hooked. I like well-crafted stories that keep me turning the pages. Those that stump me in figuring out the mystery are a plus for me. I love books with descriptive settings that place me, as the reader, in the heart of the action.

Joan's book list on mystery and suspense…with a bit of legends and folklore

Joan Hall Why did Joan love this book?

After reading the first book of the Cork O’Connor series some twenty years after its initial publication date, I got hooked and quickly devoured the other books.

I’ve come to love many of Krueger’s recurring characters. Not only does he weave a good mystery but paints vivid descriptions of the Minnesota wilderness. This nineteenth book of the series is my favorite so far.

By William Kent Krueger,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fox Creek as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The latest in the New York Times bestselling Cork O'Connor Mystery Series from the "master storyteller" (Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author) follows Cork in a race against time to save his wife, a mysterious stranger, and an Ojibwe healer from bloodthirsty mercenaries.

The ancient Ojibwe healer Henry Meloux has had a vision of his death. As he walks the Northwoods in solitude, he tries to prepare himself peacefully for the end of his long life. But peace is destined to elude him as hunters fill the woods seeking a woman named Dolores Morriseau, a stranger who had…


Book cover of Genuine Deceit

Joan Hall Author Of Cold Dark Night: Legends of Madeira

From my list on mystery and suspense…with a bit of legends and folklore.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always enjoyed mystery and suspense stories—Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark being two of my all-time favorite authors. Throw in some legends and folklore, and I’m hooked. I like well-crafted stories that keep me turning the pages. Those that stump me in figuring out the mystery are a plus for me. I love books with descriptive settings that place me, as the reader, in the heart of the action.

Joan's book list on mystery and suspense…with a bit of legends and folklore

Joan Hall Why did Joan love this book?

With a title like Genuine Deceit, how could I not pick this book? How can deceit be genuine? The suspense begins in chapter one and doesn’t let up until the end.

The characters are well-developed, the story is perfectly paced to keep a reader’s interest, and there are plenty of red herrings, but not enough to reveal the truth until the last pages. The touch of romance between the main character and a former Navy SEAL is an added plus.

By Joy York,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Genuine Deceit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of Skinwalkers

R Lawson Gamble Author Of The Other

From my list on paranormal and Native American mysticism mystery.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am, and always have been, stimulated by a spiritual connection to my world beyond the laws of physics and men. My hiking, climbing, and trail running have taken me to breathless places imbued with auras and presences I don’t understand but readily accept. And I am filled with the same spirituality when performing or listening to music. I have no ego to shun that which I don’t understand, for I know there is so much beyond me. Some authors describe this intangible better than others in their stories; I hope I am among the former.

R Lawson's book list on paranormal and Native American mysticism mystery

R Lawson Gamble Why did R Lawson love this book?

I have long been intrigued by the concept of shapeshifters, particularly the Navajo Skinwalker, a practitioner of spiritual arts who can learn to transform into another species while in pursuit of a particular end. I am not alone,  judging from all the ancient legends around the globe. Even today, depictions of shapeshifters are found in literature and on film in many guises. Tony Hillerman takes a deep dive into Navajo lore in this early novel with a close encounter with a suspected “yee naaldlooshii”. Feel the hair rise on your neck!

By Tony Hillerman,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Skinwalkers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Don’t Miss the AMC television series, Dark Winds, based on the Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito novels, coming this summer! 

From New York Times bestselling author Tony Hillerman, Skinwalkers is the seventh novel featuring Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee—a riveting tale of sorcery, secrets, and murder.

Three shotgun blasts rip through the side of Officer Jim Chee’s trailer as the Navajo Tribal Policeman sleeps. He survives, but the inexplicable attack has raised disturbing questions about a lawman once beyond reproach.

Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn wonders why Chee was a target and what connection the assault has to a series of…


Book cover of Dance Hall of the Dead

Cedar Koons Author Of Murder at Sleeping Tiger

From my list on moody mysteries about murders in remote places during snowstorms.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a retired psychotherapist, I love a good book with complex characters that stand up to analysis. As a moody introvert, I especially enjoy untangling a set of clues in an atmosphere of suspense. Given that I live in a remote, wild area with plenty of snow and extreme weather, I am a good judge of stories about people being pitted against the elements. Finally, I am always curious to learn more about indigenous cultures since I live near more tribal land than anywhere in the US except Alaska. And, of course, I’m a mystery writer!

Cedar's book list on moody mysteries about murders in remote places during snowstorms

Cedar Koons Why did Cedar love this book?

This is one of Hillerman’s best mysteries.

His writing is as crisp and startling as the turquoise skies over the New Mexico desert. Laconic Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn quickly felt like a familiar friend.

The story haunted me, especially the scary scene at the Shalako ceremonial in a Zuni village.

By Tony Hillerman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dance Hall of the Dead as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Don’t miss the TV series, Dark Winds, based on the Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito novels, now on AMC and AMC+!  

The Edgar-Award winning second novel in New York Times bestselling author Tony Hillerman’s bestselling and highly acclaimed Leaphorn and Chee series

“Hillerman is a wonderful storyteller.”—New York Times Book Review

Two Native American boys have vanished into thin air, leaving a pool of blood behind them. Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Tribal Police has no choice but to suspect the very worst, since the blood that stains the parched New Mexico ground once flowed through the veins of one…


Book cover of The Blessing Way

Carl and Jane Bock Author Of Day of the Jaguar: An Arizona Borderlands Mystery

From my list on mysteries about the American Southwest.

Why are we passionate about this?

Deserts are inherently mysterious places. This likely explains why so many good mystery novels have been set in them. We spent better than forty years doing field work in the American Southwest, and we have found mystery novels based in this region among the very best. All good mystery novels must have strong plots and memorable characters, but to us an equally important component is setting. Jane is a botanist with expertise in the use of plant evidence in solving murder cases. Carl is a vertebrate zoologist and conservation biologist. Upon retirement we began writing mysteries. Some are set in the desert grasslands of Arizona, and all are inspired by the southwestern authors we have selected as our favorites.     

Carl's book list on mysteries about the American Southwest

Carl and Jane Bock Why did Carl love this book?

When we first discovered Tony Hillerman’s books, we nearly lost a whole summer’s fieldwork because we couldn’t stop reading them. In our opinion, no fiction author has better captured both the haunting physical beauty and cultural traditions of the Navajo Nation. Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn of the tribal police is more pragmatic than his fellow officers Jim Chee and Bernadette Manuelito, who bring a more spiritual side to their work. The Blessing Way is the first of this long-running series, which is being carried on by Anne Hillerman. In this first book, the police find a corpse so far out in the desert and so wrapped in mystery as to shake even Leaphorn’s belief that everything has a rational explanation. Hillerman inspired us to try writing mystery novels of our own, although we don’t pretend to have achieved his level of mastery.  

By Tony Hillerman,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Blessing Way as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Don’t miss the TV series, Dark Winds, based on the Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito novels, now on AMC and AMC+!  

“Brilliant…as fascinating as it is original.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

From New York Times bestselling author Tony Hillerman, the first novel in his series featuring Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn & Officer Jim Chee who encounter a bizarre case that borders between the supernatural and murder

Homicide is always an abomination, but there is something exceptionally disturbing about the victim discovered in a high, lonely place—a corpse with a mouth full of sand—abandoned at a crime scene seemingly devoid of tracks or useful clues.…


Book cover of The Tale Teller

Larry Sydow Author Of Parallel Missions: The Journey Begins

From my list on capturing the imagination and making you think.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up on a small Nebraska farm where a grove of trees was a vast forest, a cow pasture was an endless desert, and a corn cob pile was the tallest mountain in the world. Our horse barn doubled as a castle and fortress for fighting every evil bad guy—including aliens from outer space. I was mortally wounded dozens of times, conducted my first wedding in a grain bin-cathedral at age eight, and read every book our country school could borrow. In college I majored in sociology, minored in history, and receive a Master of Divinity in seminary. My reading list reflects my love of adventurous variety.

Larry's book list on capturing the imagination and making you think

Larry Sydow Why did Larry love this book?

Anne Hillerman follows her father Tony’s tradition of taking me into the world of Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Nation. Her knowledge of the superstitions and practices of the Navajo weaves through the Leaphorn’s, Jim and Manuelito Chee’s criminal investigations. I was fascinated by the twists, turns, and dangers they faced and the obstacles created by tribal and governmental regulations. Their corroboration and determination were an inspiration. I was reminded again of the importance of working together rather than trying to go it alone.

By Anne Hillerman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Tale Teller as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Don't miss the TV series, Dark Winds, based on the Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito novels, now on AMC and AMC+!

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Legendary Navajo policeman Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn takes center stage in this riveting atmospheric mystery from New York Times bestselling author Anne Hillerman that combines crime, superstition, and tradition and brings the desert Southwest vividly alive.

Joe Leaphorn may have retired from the Tribal Police, but he finds himself knee-deep in a perplexing case involving a priceless artifact-a reminder of a dark time in Navajo history. Joe's been hired to find a missing biil, a traditional dress…


Book cover of Skeleton Man

Devorah Fox Author Of Lady Blackwing Earns Her Mask

From my list on stories featuring a strong female character.

Why am I passionate about this?

Raised on Nancy Drew who was herself outspoken and independent, I’m attracted to stories about barrier-breaking determined women who don’t back down from a fight. While many of the heroines of fantasy fiction have special abilities or can work magic, being able to stand up for oneself and speak one’s mind in the face of opposition is itself a superpower. I enjoy seeing how other authors portray it, what wrongs the heroines aim to put right, and how they do it.

Devorah's book list on stories featuring a strong female character

Devorah Fox Why did Devorah love this book?

I am a huge fan of Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn and Chee novels. I was privileged to meet Mr. Hillerman at a writers convention. He was gracious and supportive of other authors and I learned a lot from his presentation. The main characters of his series are two male Navajo police officers but in The Fallen Man he introduced Bernadette “Bernie” Manuelito. In that story she is a new officer with the tribal police but in Skeleton Man she has become a federal Customs Patrol officer. Smart and capable, she holds her own, be it in the office with senior male officers or in the harsh, challenging American Southwest desert territory that is her “beat.” As an indoor girl, I was almost more impressed with the latter as I was with her role in solving the case.

By Tony Hillerman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Skeleton Man as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“In his masterly reworking of this powerful myth, Hillerman creates a kachina for contemporary times. . . . No wonder Hillerman’s stories never grow old. Like myths, they keep evolving with the telling.”— New York Times Book Review

From the enduring "national and literary cultural sensation" (Los Angeles Times) Tony Hillerman, a crackling tale of myth, mystery, and murder featuring the legendary Leaphorn and Chee.

Though he may be retired, Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn hasn’t lost his curiosity or his edge. He’s eager to help Sergeant Jim Chee and his fiancée Bernie Manuelito with their latest case—clearing an…


Book cover of The Sacred Bridge

Tena Stetler Author Of A Witch's Journey

From my list on paranormal mystery with magic and animal rescue.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been captivated with legends of witches, vampires, faeries, fae, and most magical beings since childhood. Studied and wrote about them with a mysterious twist most of my life. I spent eighteen years as a paralegal in a criminal law firm. Also animal and wildlife rescue is my passion. Working with sanctuaries gives you an up close and personal understanding of why these institutions are necessary. The first book in my second series, A Witch’s Journey, documents a witch who is passionate about animal rescue, and her efforts to build a sanctuary on her family’s enchanted land with the help of her family, friends, and a former Navy SEAL.

Tena's book list on paranormal mystery with magic and animal rescue

Tena Stetler Why did Tena love this book?

I love Native American legends and lore, especially when they are done well.

This book hits all the right notes, plus the characters are well written, plus Jim Chee, a Sargent of the Navajo police in the book takes on a quest to unravel a sacred mystery. Love mysteries.

The vivid descriptions of the locations in the southwest make you feel like you are there.

Life on the Navajo Nation is depicted well, as Anne Hillerman’s father, Tony Hillerman wrote before her.  

By Anne Hillerman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Sacred Bridge as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Don’t miss the TV series, Dark Winds, based on the Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito novels, now on AMC and AMC+!  

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“A fine legacy series . . .  in the spirit of her late father, Tony.”—Booklist 

An ancient mystery resurfaces with ramifications for the present day in this gripping chapter in the Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito series from New York Times bestselling author Anne Hillerman.

Sergeant Jim Chee’s vacation to beautiful Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell has a deeper purpose. He’s on a quest to unravel a sacred mystery his mentor, the Legendary Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, stumbled…


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