Finding Moon » (Reissue)

Tony Hillerman's experience as a journalist and a lover of Native American culture lent an unmistakable authenticity to his mysteries. In addition to his popular series starring Navajo Tribal Police detectives Chee and Leaphorn, he wrote standalone novels, essays about the Southwest, and a warmly reviewed autobiography (Seldom Disappointed) that revealed not only his talent, but his bravery as a soldier in World War II. He died in 2008 at the age of 83.

Loaded with e-book extras (not available in the print edition), including Tony Hillerman's running commentary on his work, his series heroes Leaphorn and Chee, and a special profile of the Navajo nation.

Moon Mathias discovers his dead brother's baby daughter is waiting for him in Southeast Asia -- a child he didn't know existed.

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Hillerman apologizes in his introduction for "wandering away" from his usual southwestern setting and from the extraordinarily popular Chee/Leaphorn duo, but the departure has resulted in what is undoubtedly one of Hillerman's most affecting, strongest, best-told tales yet. Set in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War, the story follows Colorado newspaper editor Malcolm "Moon" Mathias, who labors under the misapprehension that he's "third-rate" --unsuccessful in his career, unlucky in love, and unwise about life. As the story begins, Moon gets a call from an "L.A." hospital reporting that his mother has collapsed at the airport after suffering a serious heart attack. She was headed for the Philippines, so Moon figures her trip must have had something to do with his younger brother, Ricky, a former air force pilot who had set up his own transport business in Vietnam, then died in a plane crash. When Moon reaches "L.A.", he finds papers in his mother's purse that reveal Ricky was the father of a Vietnamese daughter--whom Moon's mother was obviously on her way to rescue. Of course, responsibility for finding the baby falls on Moon's capable shoulders. And it's on his heartrending, dangerous, surprising journey into his brother's past on the Mekong Delta that Moon eventually finds not only the child, but his own destiny. A tragic tale of war, a suspenseful adventure story, a gripping journey into man's deepest fears, and an engrossing love story.