As many of you long-time readers know, I love reading books steeped in other cultures. Marcie R. Rendon's Cash Blackbear series featuring a young Ojibwe woman in the area around Fargo, North Dakota became a favorite of mine soon after I discovered it. When I learned that Rendon had a new book being released, I was thrilled. Let me tell you more about it!
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| Available September 3, 2024! |
Synopsis:
"Quill has lived on the Red Pine reservation in Minnesota her whole
life. She knows what happens to women who look like her. Just a girl
when Jimmy Sky jumped off the railway bridge and she ran for help, Quill
realizes now that she’s never stopped running. As she trains for the
Boston Marathon early one morning out in the woods, she hears a
scream. When she returns to search the area, all she finds are tire
tracks and a single beaded earring.
Things are different now for Quill than when she was a lonely girl. Her friends Punk and Gaylyn are two women who don’t know what it means to quit; her loving husband, Crow, and their two beautiful children challenge her to be better every day. So when she hears a second woman has been stolen, she is determined to do something about it—starting with investigating the group of men working the pipeline construction just north of their homes.
As Quill closes in on the truth about the missing women, someone else disappears. In her quest to find justice for all of the women of the reservation, she is confronted with the hard truths of their home and the people who purport to serve them. When will she stop losing neighbors, friends, family? As Quill puts everything on the line to make a difference, the novel asks searing questions about bystander culture, the reverberations of even one act of crime, and the long-lasting trauma of being considered invisible."
Things are different now for Quill than when she was a lonely girl. Her friends Punk and Gaylyn are two women who don’t know what it means to quit; her loving husband, Crow, and their two beautiful children challenge her to be better every day. So when she hears a second woman has been stolen, she is determined to do something about it—starting with investigating the group of men working the pipeline construction just north of their homes.
As Quill closes in on the truth about the missing women, someone else disappears. In her quest to find justice for all of the women of the reservation, she is confronted with the hard truths of their home and the people who purport to serve them. When will she stop losing neighbors, friends, family? As Quill puts everything on the line to make a difference, the novel asks searing questions about bystander culture, the reverberations of even one act of crime, and the long-lasting trauma of being considered invisible."
I am glad that we're seeing more books about missing Indigenous women here in the United States. It is a horrific problem that was swept under the rug for much too long, and crime fiction is a genre that can really help readers understand what's been happening.
Marcie Rendon is a marvelous storyteller, and I am definitely looking forward to meeting Quill. If you haven't read any of Rendon's books, I highly recommend them.
Thank you for this review.I would not have known about this book otherwise. I read the first two books featuring Indigenous young woman, Cash. Will look for this book. Yes, the critical issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls is not well-known enough and it is very important. Thankfully, auhors, usually Indigenous, are writing about this important issue.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that we're finally hearing more from Indigenous authors, which means publishers are learning to diversify. More voices need to be heard.
DeleteAbsolutely, and many Indigenous women's writings are being published and they explain their nations or tribes very proudly, quite a good sign. And they are very sensitive toward each other.
DeleteYes, they are.
DeleteThis sounds excellent, Cathy, and I do like her Cash Blackbear stories. We need more attention focused on missing Indigenous women - we've kept quiet for too long.
ReplyDeleteYes, we have. I watched an episode of Will Trent last night in which a Black woman character said that there are 60,000 missing Black women in the US. I would imagine that the number of missing Indigenous women is just as high.
DeleteAdding this series to my reading list.
ReplyDeleteI think you would find the Cash Blackbear series a very interesting one, Dorothy. I hope your rehab is going well.
DeleteI'm excited to read this one! Though I do kind of wish it had Cash in it. She's such a great character.
ReplyDeleteShe is. I'm going to miss her, too.
DeleteThank you for reminding me about this author! (That seems to be a trend this year...) I haven't read all the Cash Blackbear books yet, and will definitely look for this one also.
ReplyDeleteI'd hate to tell you how many authors I need to be reminded of!
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