Thursday, October 21, 2021

Carrying on Hillerman’s Legacy

Courtesy of In Reference to Murder comes the news that Christina Estes, an Emmy award-winning reporter and author in Phoenix, Arizona, has won the 2020 Tony Hillerman Prize for Best First Mystery Set in the Southwest. Her novel, Off the Air, is being readied for release, by Minotaur Books, in 2023.

A news release explains that Estes’ story focuses on “a local TV news reporter who gets the scoop of a lifetime while investigating the murder of a popular radio talk show host. But the killer is determined to keep her silent.” Commenting on that work, Joseph Brosnan, who oversees the Hillerman Prize program for Minotaur, says, “We’re so excited to publish Off the Air. Christina’s novel was a treat to read, and both Hillerman and mystery fans are going to love it.”

Atlanta, Georgia, bookseller Samantha Jayne Allen captured the 2020 Hillerman Prize; her debut novel, Pay Dirt Road, is due out in April 2022. A list of other previous recipients is available here.

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