Even though it’s into season 3, some people are still just discovering AMC’sDark Windsshow, and they may be surprised to learn it’s based on a series of books by Tony Hillerman.Set in the Navajo Nation in the 1970s,Dark Windsfollows the Navajo Tribal Police led by Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and his deputies Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon). Each season has adapted one or two of the books, andDark Windsseason 3’s story finds them working on different casesin different states.
Dark Winds, which holds an impressive perfect Rotten Tomatoes score through all three seasons, has been praised for its skillful writing and direction. TheDark Windscasthas also rightfully gotten accolades for their work bringing Tony Hillerman’s original work to life and, in doing so, making smart and decisive changes to ease the transition to TV. For anyone who is interested in diving into the books, here’s a guide for how many they are, where to start, and a streamlined option for those who just want to read the books the show covers.
There Are Currently 27 Books In The Leaphorn & Chee Series
Chee & Bernadette Joined The Series In Later Books
The Leaphorn and Chee series is admittedly not for the faint of heart: currently, there are 27 books in the series, which has been ongoing since 1970. The first three books -The Blessing Way,Dance Hall of the Dead, andListening Woman- focused only on Joe Leaphorn. Jim Chee entered the series with the fourth book,People of Darkness, in 1980. Interestingly, Bernadette Manuelito wasn’t introduced until 1996’sThe Fallen Man, the twelfth book in the series. Book #28,Shadow of the Solstice, is set to release this year, so it’s a perfect time to get started on the series.
Shadow of the Solsticeis set to hit bookshelves on June 14, 2025.
The full list of the books currently in the series is below:
1970
1973
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1989
1990
1993
1996
1998
1999
2002
2003
2004
2006
2013
2015
Song of the Lion
2017
2018
2019
2021
2022
2023
2024
Shadow of the Solstice
2025
Anne Hillerman Took Over After Tony Hillerman Died
She’s Continued His Legacy While Forging Her Own Path
You may have noticed that the author of the books changed after 2006. That’s because Tony Hillerman’s daughter, Anne, took over his work after his passing in October 2008. With her taking the reins of the series and continuing Tony’s legacy, Joe Leaphorn has a smaller role, with Jim Chee and Bernadette Manuelito stepping to the forefront as the main detectives and crime investigators. Even with his reduced role, however, the long-since-retired Leaphorn does still help them out on a consulting and mentorship basis.
For those who might wonder if that’s something Tony Hillerman would have wanted, he obliquely gave the idea his blessing before his passing. Anne Hillerman explained when speaking toMirage, the University of New Mexico’s magazine:
“I said to Dad, ‘I think readers would enjoy seeing Bernie take the next step and be on the same level as Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn.’ I thought he’d say, ‘Oh, honey, what a good idea.’ No, what he said was, ‘What an interesting idea.’ But in the end, I was glad he didn’t do it. Because that gave me a chance to continue the series, but to give it a different voice and my own perspective – a female perspective – by giving Bernie not only a job but also giving her what every working woman has, which is a lot of complications.”
Since taking over, Anne Hillerman has received lots of praise from book critics and longtime readers alike for the way she’s handled her father’s legacy while forging her own. Her solo novels have come highly rated and well-reviewed, and each one has landed on theNew York Timesbestseller list. It’s not a coincidence that Anne Hillerman serves as an executive producer on theDark WindsTV adaptation, and it was she who gave co-Dark Windsproducers George R. R. Martin and Robert Redford permission to use her father’s, and now her, characters in the show.
Dark Winds Has Adapted 4 Books So Far – Loosely
Massive Changes Have Been Made From The Books
Those who started with theDark WindsTV show before reading the books might be surprised to see how different they are from the original novels. Certain characters have been greatly changed from the books. For example,Dark Winds' Jim Chee is completely different from the books, though season 3 hints that might be changing. Bernadette Manuelito wasn’t in any of the books that have been adapted for the show to this point, so her inclusion in the show is a big difference for most of those stories.
How Dark Winds Season 3’s Bernadette Story Perfectly Combines Two Leaphorn & Chee Novels Explained By Showrunner
Dark Winds showrunner John Wirth discusses his approach to Bernadette’s story (and her romance with Chee) in season 3, as well as Leaphorn’s haunting.
For anyone who doesn’t quite have the motivation to read every book in the series, you’re able to start with the books covered in the show. So far, the TV show has loosely adapted four of the books in the series:
It speaks to the deftness of the writers that they are able to take narratives from two of the novels and weave them together in the trim miniseries length of each season ofDark Winds: seasons 1 and 2 had six episodes, and season 3 has eight episodes.Dark Windsseason 4, which was greenlit before the third season even premiered, has already begun filming in New Mexico. Season 4 will also have eight episodes, signaling AMC’s confidence in the show. However, we still don’t yet know which book – or two books – from the Hillerman seriesDark Windsseason 4 will adapt.
