The Fallen Man is a crime novel by American writer Tony Hillerman, the twelfth in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series, first published in 1996.

Joe Leaphorn, retired five months earlier, cautiously approaches Chee with his memory of a missing person case from eleven years before, never solved.

The couple and her brother Eldon Demott had been celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary and Hal's birthday on a trip to the reservation, including Canyon de Chelly.

Rookie officer Bernadette Manuelito is taking initiative on the cattle rustling problems; she asks Lucy Sam to watch and record events near her hogan.

Leaphorn uses a helicopter and his friend Rosebrough to take pictures of the climbers’ log atop Shiprock, revealing a third date, September 30, when only Hal Breedlove signed the book, with the Latin aphorism, vita brevis.

Chee in turn tells him how Officer Manuelito arrested Dick Finch today, caught in the act of stealing cattle in his vehicle.

In his 2011 book Tony Hillerman's Navajoland: Hideouts, Haunts, and Havens in the Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee Mysteries, author Laurance D. Linford has listed the following 57 geographical locations mentioned in The Fallen Man.

Leaphorn tells Acting Lt. Jim Chee that the skeleton could be the remains of Harold Breedlove, the ranching heir who went missing during a trip he and his wife Elisa were taking in the area 11 years ago, days after the 30th birthday that brought him into the proceeds of his family trust fund.

[3]Library Journal says that the writing is strong but the plot not very mysterious: Having explored the Vietnam War in Finding Moon (LJ 11/1/95), Hillerman returns to the desert Southwest in his newest work.

Retired tribal police officer Joe Leaphorn, who had investigated the case, approaches newly promoted Lieutenant Jim Chee with his theory.

[4]School Library Journal also finds the vivid descriptions typical of Hillerman, but says this plot lacks the suspense of earlier stories in the series: YA [Young Adult].

The latest Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn mystery has vivid descriptions of Native American mythology and traditions but lacks the suspense and tightly woven plot of the earlier titles in this popular series.

Meanwhile, Leaphorn is hired by a lawyer to look into the investigation for the rancher's Eastern family, who want to own his land legally so they can accept a lucrative bid for the mining rights.

The continuing rocky romance between Chee and tribal lawyer Janet Pete brings an interesting love angle to the story.

The reappearance of Leaphorn seems less a contrivance than a godsend, as Chee is challenged to demonstrate his mettle under fire, and several interesting auxiliary characters are given room to blossom.