Thrift Shop Book Covers: "The Blessing Way"

The Blessing Way, by Tony Hillerman, was published as a hardcover by Harper & Row in 1970, but the edition that caught my eye was Avon’s 1978 paperback edition. The desert background, frightening wolf headpiece shadow, and the Navajo artifact make for an intriguing and alluring temptation to open the book. The artist: Unknown (to me at least)

The first sentence:

Luis Horseman leaned the flat stone very carefully against the pinon twig, adjusted its balance exactly and then cautiously withdrew his hand.

The Blessing Way was Tony Hillerman’s first novel, introducing his long-time series character Detective Joe Leaphorn. In later novels, Leaphorn was joined by Navajo Tribal Police Officer Jim Chee.