Launching Anne Hillerman’s Stargazer

The Poisoned Pen launched Anne Hillerman’s latest novel, Stargazer, with a fascinating discussion of A Very Large Array, a place that listens to space. You’ll want to watch the video. And, signed copies of Stargazer are on the way to the bookstore, if you’d like to order one. https://bit.ly/2q3fNkK

Here’s the description of Stargazer.

Murder, deception, Navajo tradition, and the stars collide in this enthralling entry in New York Times bestselling author Anne Hillerman’s Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito series, set amid the beautiful landscape of the American Southwest.

What begins as a typical day for Officer Bernadette Manuelito—serving a bench warrant, dealing with a herd of cattle obstructing traffic, and stumbling across a crime scene—takes an unexpected twist when she’s called to help find an old friend. Years ago, Bernie and Maya were roommates, but time and Maya’s struggles with addiction drove them apart. Now Maya’s brother asks Bernie to find out what happened to his sister.

Tracing Maya’s whereabouts, Bernie learns that her old friend had confessed to the murder of her estranged husband, a prominent astronomer. But the details don’t align. Suspicious, Bernie takes a closer look at the case only to find that nothing is as it seems. Uncovering new information about the astronomer’s work leads Bernie to a remote spot on the Navajo Nation and a calculating killer.

The investigation causes an unexpected rift with her husband and new acting boss, Jim Chee, who’s sure Bernie’s headed for trouble. While she’s caught between present and past, Chee is at a crossroads of his own. Burdened with new responsibilities he didn’t ask for and doesn’t want, he must decide what the future holds for him and act accordingly. 

Can their mentor Joe Leaphorn—a man also looking at the past for answers to the future—provide the guidance both Bernie and Chee need? And will the Navajo heroes that stud the starry sky help them find justice—and the truth they seek?


Anne Hillerman grew up with the stories her father, New York Times bestselling author Tony Hillerman, brought home from his work as a journalist and later as a fiction writer. His storytelling and a deep love of reading inspired by both her parents led Anne to own career as a journalist and nonfiction writer. After Tony’s death in 2008, Anne felt the loss of his beloved characters as deeply as his fans did. His fans’ passion for those stories inspired her to give Tony’s characters a second chance at life and to develop one of his minor characters, Bernie Manuelito, into a central protagonist. Stargazer is her sixth novel and the twenty-fourth in the Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito series.”


Here’s the video of the virtual book launch.