Navajo Fiction

Yellow dirt gathers in the creases of the toddler's dirty blue jeans and on the little hands used to brush away a pesky fly. The same yellow particles that cling to the walls of the Hogan, contaminates the drinking water and fills the air where his father works only to come home covered with yellow dust. Yellow dirt. That enriches the powerful, but at the expense of the unsuspecting Dine.

An icy chill foretells a harsh winter for the Navajo people—and for perpetually down on his luck Harley Ponyboy the situation grows increasingly desperate. What evil is this that dogs his every step? When a lucky lottery ticket comes his way, Harley uses the new resources to search for a lost love—only to find she has fallen to appalling depths. His stubborn resolve to help puts him on a collision course with her abusive companion . . . and with his own mortality.

Reservation "bad boy" Thomas Begay is found dead drunk under the La Plata Bridge, which is not unusual for him. What is unusual, however, is that beautiful BIA investigator Patsy Greyhorse is found lying beside him, not drunk or even a Navajo but very dead nonetheless. Charlie Yazzie, fresh from law school, risks his career and even his life to help his old friend. The answer seems to lie with the Yeenaaldiooshii...should one choose to believe in such things.

A frantic young girl flees the reservation to escape the horrors of abuse at the hands of her adoptive family. Despising her white father they blame for the death of the girl's mother. The man is driven out only to be found dead along a lonely stretch of dirt road. Suffering through a long and desperate struggle on the back streets of Albuquerque, the girl somehow manages to survive, and against all odds, eventually claws her way up from the depths of degradation to a life of success beyond her wildest imagining.

Although the mission school bans all that is Navajo, Ned secretly clings to his native language and culture. Proudly joining the U.S. Marines in 1943, he becomes a top-secret Navajo Code Talker. During bloody battles for Japanese islands, Ned and his brave band of code-talking brothers save thousands of lives using Navajo encryption the enemy never cracks.

An old silversmith's body is dumped along the highway, and Legal Services Investigator Charlie Yazzie isn't content to stand by while the FBI and Tribal look for clues—not when he sees his friends Thomas Begay and Harley Ponyboy sucked into a tightening web of evil.

During World War II, U.S. forces had to keep battle plans and other top secret information out of the enemy's hands. Coded messages were often used, but secret codes could be broken. To solve this problem, the U.S. military turned to an unexpected source to create an unbreakable code. The Navajo people spoke a complex language that few outsiders knew how to speak. Several Navajo soldiers were recruited to develop a code based on the Navajo language.

Rita Todacheene is a forensic photographer working for the Albuquerque police force. Her excellent photography skills have cracked many cases—she is almost supernaturally good at capturing details. In fact, Rita has been hiding a secret: she sees the ghosts of crime victims who point her toward the clues that other investigators overlook. As a lone portal back to the living for traumatized spirits, Rita is terrorized by nagging ghosts who won’t let her sleep and who sabotage her personal life.

An ancient, disabled girl holds the key to unlock two modern day murders on the Dine Bikeyah. Archeology and murder entwine in Chappell's latest Canyon Lands thriller.

Deadfall tracks Charlie Yazzie, Thomas Begay, and Harley Ponyboy into unfamiliar territory. When a family member unexpectedly dies, a debilitating sense of loss overcomes our friends on the reservation. The ties that have bound them begin to unravel. What witch's evil is at work? Is the bond forever broken? Or is there a connection to the ancient past that might bring this malevolent aura to an end?

When the local trader is found murdered the only clue points directly at Lucy Tallwoman. The FBI sweeps in to discover a decades-old trail of deceit and betrayal as the darker days of Lucy's past come back to haunt her. The family decides they need help . . . and fast.

Tressa Tarango's husband lost his soul somewhere on the cold high desert of the Navajo Reservation. She doesn't know who killed him and only by venturing among warring drug cartels can she exact the revenge to pacify his restless soul. Only she can ensure Luca's troubled spirit finds peace in the underworld. Though his murderous rampage will keep him from heaven—Tressa hopes she might yet secure him a higher place in hell.

A century ago, the American Southwest was a region of savage natural beauty. There, the Navajo people worshipped the land, spinning folk tales into legends and prayers into songs. But besieged by US Army soldiers, the tribe was suddenly thrust into a battle that nearly destroyed the proudly woven fabric of its culture.

What happens when danger and love collide under a Navajo moon? The search for a woman who disappeared in 1906 has lead cultural anthropologist Erin Dawson to Cedar Canyon, where the iconic terrain of red rock walls and mesas keep Navajo traditions - and maybe criminal evidence - well hidden. When Erin's search leads her to cross paths with tribal policeman Adam Silverhorn, it's hardly love at first sight. But everywhere she turns, Adam is already there.

Only a few short months after humanity's first interstellar flights, the first shots have been fired in what will eventually become known as the Alliance Wars. Terran Fleet Command teeters on the edge of chaos in the aftermath of Chairwoman Crull's removal from power, while in space, Earth's defense falls squarely on the shoulders of Admiral Kevin Patterson. With only a small number of ships capable of bringing the fight to the enemy, he makes the bold decision to divide his forces, meeting the Resistance task force head-on at two separate locations.

In this fast-paced sequel to the highly acclaimed Navajo Autumn, Charlie Yazzie and Thomas Begay encounter danger and intrigue on the nation's largest Indian reservation. Old and new characters emerge to unravel ongoing corruption in the upcoming Patsy Greyhorse murder trials, and an irascible Ute family and their shrewd ranch-woman neighbor become caught up in the plot to place certain tribal leaders above the law.

When Mexico's bloodiest predator invades the reservation, it's up to Charlie Yazzie and his friends to take charge the Navajo way. Navajo can track prey, but can Charlie, Thomas, and Harley Ponyboy catch the killer before he catches them?

¿Crees en los ángeles?–Me preguntaron un día.–¡Claro que sí!–respondí de inmediato. Lo que jamás imaginé es que ellos, los ángeles, fueran a intervenir en mi vida de la forma en que lo hicieron. Esta podría ser la reflexión de Julio, el protagonista de Diamantes en la noche.

Charlie and Thomas Begay find themselves caught up in a dangerous, intrigue-filled adventure involving one of the canyon lands' oldest riddles. Dark secrets are revealed in this fast-paced mystery of a forgotten people.

Dreams tell old man Paul T'Sosi he's dying. So why is Navajo trickster Magpie trying to tell him a far more terrifying secret? Hungry for revenge, Ma'iitsoh Dine', the Navajo Wolf, is out for blood. Summoning his darkest powers, the Witch of Ganado circles tribal investigator Charlie Yazzie's young son and close friends. Some may survive the witch's evil vendetta, but others will die to settle an old score.