Wisdom Corner by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

 

First Line: I surveyed the wreckage around Wisdom Corner.

In a promise to his partner, Marie, who is running for a position on the tribal council, Virgil Wounded Horse has been working on putting his past behind him. No more work as a hired vigilante on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. No more smoking. No more drinking. Not everyone has been happy with his decision to stop dispensing justice, but Virgil has persevered... until a beloved member of the community is murdered.

Forced to return to the job, Virgil finds that the victim was threatened by a street gang from a neighboring reservation, and a shady politician who will stop at nothing to gain more power may have something to do with the murder, too.

With the stakes growing higher by the day, Virgil needs to find the killer as quickly as possible because the lives of those he loves are at stake.

~

Back in 2021, I highly recommended Weiden's first Virgil Wounded Horse mystery, Winter Counts, and I'm happy to say that his second, Wisdom Corner, is every bit as good. 

The author puts readers right in the heart of the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservations. He weaves fascinating bits of Native American history into his story, like the Carlyle Indian School football team, and shows us all how Indian boarding schools and the proven inequality of the American criminal justice system have made their marks on Native lives. Native American culture and delicious food are also part of this rich tapestry.

But any fictional tapestry is incomplete without an engaging cast of characters, and Wisdom Corner has that, too. Virgil's struggle to have a more acceptable lifestyle is real, and his partner, Marie, does everything she can to help him. Marie's fight for a seat on the tribal council is only one of the ways she shows how much she cares for the people on the reservation. Virgil's nephew, Nathan, is a high schooler trying to have a meaningful life on the reservation-- which is extremely difficult to do for any young person there. I think my favorite new character was Rose Charging Cloud, the chief of police for the Rosebud Sioux tribe. Being Black, Native, and female, she's had a tough road to her job. At first, I didn't like her, but she certainly grew on me. 

Once again, as in Winter Counts, the bad guy was very easy for me to spot, but there was some excellent misdirection steering readers toward other suspects. If you enjoy learning about other cultures in a propulsive mystery populated with vivid characters, I highly recommend Wisdom Corner, but I will say that you should really read Winter Counts first. (Why settle for one great read when you can have two?)

Wisdom Corner by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

eISBN: 9780062969002

Ecco Books © 2026

eBook, 320 pages

Native American Mystery, #2 Virgil Wounded Horse

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Blood Relay by Devon Mihesuah

 

First Lines: Dels Billy rolled up the window and plugged her iPhone cord into the dash. The Jonas Brothers' song "Sucker" blasted the cab.

When Dels Billy, a popular women's Indian Horse Relay rider, disappears, Choctaw Detective Perry Antelope and her partner, Sophia Burns, are called in to investigate. It doesn't take them long to realize that this isn't a cut-and-dried missing persons case.

Disturbing connections between Dels' disappearance and a series of unsolved abductions of women from Oklahoma reservations are uncovered, but the perpetrators always seem to be a step ahead. This doesn't deter Perry and Sophia. They are determined that Dels is not going to become just another statistic.

~

I am always on the lookout for Native American-themed mysteries, so it's no surprise this book interested me. Devon Mihesuah's debut thriller also caught my eye because of the Indian Horse Relay aspect, which I did know a little about. I am very happy to say that Blood Relay is a multi-layered mystery and character study that knocked my socks off. I want more.

The mystery in Blood Relay is a fast-paced thrill ride that kept me guessing, and I do like the fact that more is being written about missing Indigenous women, a plague that has disgraced our country for much too long. 

If you're worried about the Indian Horse Relay aspect of the book, don't be. It takes up very little of the story. In fact, I wouldn't have minded if Mihesuah had included a bit more about it.

I am a character-driven reader, and this is where Blood Relay shines. Perry Antelope is a seasoned investigator, and-- wonder of wonders-- where spouses in police procedurals are usually more hindrance than help, Perry's husband, Troy, is extremely supportive. Their family life is a rock-solid foundation, and one of the reasons why Perry is such a good detective.

Her partner, Sophia Burns, is an ex-Olympic shot putter and a former street-smart police officer. She and Perry have only been partners for six months, but they've created a strong bond and an impressive success rate. With the help of Choctaw Lighthorseman Raquel Hunter ("She still looked as if she could barrel through a cinder-block wall."), these two make a fascinating and formidable team. 

It's been a long time since I've been so impressed with a debut mystery. (In an aside, I was pleased to see that Mihesuah thanks fellow writer Marcie Rendon in her acknowledgements. Those of you who have had the pleasure of reading Rendon's Cash Blackbear mysteries will understand.) Now that I've had the good fortune of meeting Perry, Sophia, and Raquel, all I can say is that I hope I get to see them many more times.

Blood Relay by Devon Mihesuah

eISBN: 9780593983836

Bantam Books © 2026

eBook, 336 pages

Police Procedural/Native American mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Net Galley

Broken Fields by Marcie R. Rendon

 

First Line: Cash stepped out of the cab of her Ranchero onto the soft, black dirt of the field she was to plow under.

It's spring in the Red River Valley of 1970s Minnesota, and Cash Blackbear is out working the fields of a local farmer... until she finds him dead in a rented farmhouse on his property. The Native couple renting the house are nowhere to be found, but Cash finds their young daughter, Shawnee, hiding under a bed. Shawnee, a possible witness to the killing, is too terrified to speak.

Cash is suspicious of the farmer's grieving widow, and she spends every spare second scouring the countryside for Shawnee's parents before the little girl is put into the foster care system. When another body turns up, Cash knows she has to find out the truth of what happened in the farmhouse before the clock runs down.

~

Cash Blackbear is a young Ojibwe woman I've come to care about deeply in this series (of now) four books. Broken Fields is a tapestry tightly woven with details of Native American life in northern Minnesota, abusive farm labor practices, and women's liberation. 

Rendon's depiction of the landscape and farming aspects takes me right back to my childhood in a small farm town in central Illinois. Sights, sounds, smells-- Rendon's descriptions are incredibly vivid. 

Equally vivid are her characters. There's Sheriff Wheaton, the great rescuer, who keeps a close eye on Cash and is doing his best to further her education and work experience.  No one wants to see Cash succeed more than he does. But no character shines more brightly than Cash, battle-scarred survivor of the harsh foster system. Her fierce protectiveness of little Shawnee shows how deeply she cares-- and sometimes she cares so deeply that her anger takes control of her actions. After what happened in the previous book (Sinister Graves), Cash doesn't trust her intuition the way she used to. She sleeps with the lights on. She drinks too much. It's been a long time since I've been so invested in a character. I want this young woman to succeed. I want her to thrive. 

And I want this series to continue for a good long time. If you like good mysteries with a strong main character, a superb sense of place, and a writing style that draws you right into the heart of each book, you have to make the acquaintance of Cash Blackbear. Start with the first book, Murder on the Red River. You can thank me later.

Broken Fields by Marcie R. Rendon

eISBN: 9781641296595

Soho Press © 2025

eBook, 272 pages

Historical Mystery, #4 Cash Blackbear

Rating: A+

Source: Net Galley

Where They Last Saw Her by Marcie R. Rendon

 

First Line: Quill ran the snow-covered trail.

 

Ever since she saw Jimmy Sky jump off the railway bridge on the Red Pine Reservation in Minnesota, Quill hasn't stopped running. Now in training for the Boston Marathon, she's running in the woods when she hears a scream that chills her to the bone.

 

When she returns to search the area, all she finds are tire tracks and one beaded earring. Quill is filled with dread for the woman who screamed. She knows what happens to women who look like her. She also knows how fortunate she is. She has two good friends, Punk and Gaylyn, a loving husband, Crow, and two beautiful children. They all challenge her to be the best she can be. So when Quill learns that a second woman has been abducted, she knows she must do something about it.

 

As Quill closes in on the truth about the missing women, someone else disappears. When will she stop losing neighbors, friends, family? She's putting everything on the line to make a difference in this bystander culture... to do something about the long-lasting trauma of being considered invisible.

 

~

 

Just like in Marcie Rendon's hard-hitting Cash Blackbear trilogy (Murder on the Red River, Girl Gone Missing, Sinister Graves), When They Last Saw Her gives readers an unflinching portrait of life on the reservation for Native American women. It's a life filled with danger-- especially when "man camps" for pipeline workers are built on reservation land. Even tribal police don't do their due diligence when Quill reports the heart-stopping scream she heard when out running in the woods. When more women disappear, she and fellow runners must go in groups guarded by husbands, brothers, and boyfriends in pickup trucks. 

Rendon not only paints a portrait of women living in fear, but she also shows us the loving family life Quill has with her husband, Crow, and her two young children. Quill's refusal to "let it go," to let "boys be boys," is admirable and frightening all at the same time. Readers know how easy it would be for her to disappear, too.

Readers can also learn how government policies, like the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, have changed family dynamics within the Native community. Rendon's books are poetic, life-affirming, informative, and compelling. Quill is a force of nature every bit as strong as Cash Blackbear, and I didn't want When They Last Saw Her to end. I can't wait for Rendon's next book.

Where They Last Saw Her by Marcie R. Rendon

eISBN: 9780593496510

Bantam Books © 2024

eBook, 272 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, Native American Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Redemption by Deborah J. Ledford

 

First Lines: Ten Days Ago. She needed to start her plan of action, and where better to find a drug dealer or two than at the local high school.

 

When four women go missing from the Taos Pueblo reservation, it's personal for Deputy Eva Duran. One of the missing women is her best friend, Paloma, a heroin addict who left behind an eighteen-year-old son, Kai.

 

There seems to be a lack of interest in the case from local law enforcement, so Eva teams up with tribal police officer and longtime friend Cruz Romero to help her find the women-- an investigation that becomes even more important when the missing women begin turning up dead.

 

~

 

Having read previous books by the author, I looked forward to Redemption with anticipation, and I was not disappointed. I have visited the Taos, New Mexico area, and I appreciated learning more about Taos Pueblo, the reservation, and the traditions and beliefs of the people who live there. 

Redemption touches upon the plight of missing Indigenous women and the problem of drugs on the reservation and shows how the tribal, city, and county police forces work together to solve crimes. The four women Eva is searching for are all highly talented in arts that are important to the Pueblo people: drum making, basket making, jewelry making, and hoop dancing. When their bodies began to be found, I felt as though a part of these artistic traditions died with them. 

The cast is a strong one, with Eva at its heart. Her tribal name is Lightning Dance, but with her quiet demeanor and accurate marksmanship, she earned the nickname "Silent But Deadly" at the police academy. She often wants to go rogue to get the job done, but her intelligence keeps her in check. She knows being a loose cannon will not get the bad guys locked up in prison, and that such behavior will probably get her kicked off the police force-- and she loves her job. 

Readers see the points of view of several characters. For example, we hear Paloma's thoughts as she hopes Eva will be able to find her. We hear from Paloma's son, Kai, a mercurial eighteen-year-old whose emotions sometimes get the best of him, and we hear from Alice, the woman who's holding the women captive. Although Alice's heart is in the right place, she still reminded me a tiny bit of Annie Wilkes in Stephen King's Misery. But my favorite character has to be Nathan "Little Bear" Trujillo, a little boy who's living a nightmare and wants it to end. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing him again.

Redemption is a fast-paced tale with a main character I want to hear more from. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Redemption by Deborah J. Ledford

eISBN: 9781662510465

Thomas & Mercer © 2023

eBook, 363 pages

Police Procedural/Native American mystery, #1 Eva Duran mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

Sinister Graves by Marcie R. Rendon

 

First Line: Cash sat in a battered fishing boat on murky floodwater that was headed to the Red River.

 

When spring flood waters wash the body of a young Native woman ashore, Sheriff Wheaton asks Cash Blackbear for help. The nineteen-year-old Ojibwe woman has helped him in the past, and since she doesn't have any college classes she must attend, she agrees. The only thing that may help identify the body is a piece of folded paper found tucked in the woman's bra. It was ripped from a hymnal and is the words to a song in both English and Ojibwe.

 

Trying to track down information through that piece of paper, Cash finds herself on the doorstep of a rural "speaks in tongues" kind of church led by a charismatic preacher and his shadow of a wife. There's something not-quite-right about that couple, but what Cash finds much more troubling are the two small graves in the churchyard. When another young Native woman dies in mysterious circumstances, Cash knows that she must do whatever needs to be done in order to bring an end to these deaths.

 

~

 

Marcie Rendon has created a series with such authenticity, and such a nuanced main character, that I want it to go on for a good long time. I would recommend these books to anyone who likes a good mystery, a strong main character, a superb sense of place, and a writing style that draws readers right into the heart of each book. You could pick up Sinister Graves and read it without feeling lost, but to get the full effect of Cash Blackbear and the life she's had to lead in the Red River country of 1970s Minnesota and North Dakota, I highly recommend reading the books in order, starting with Murder on the Red River and continuing with Girl Gone Missing.

One of the best things about this series is watching Cash Blackbear's world open before her very eyes. This nineteen-year-old has survived a series of abusive foster parents and back-breaking work as a farmhand (since the age of eleven). Her life only began to take a turn for the better when she became emancipated at the age of sixteen. She's had an apartment of her own since then, and she's been under the caring, watchful eye of Sheriff Wheaton, a man I would love to know more about.

With Wheaton's encouragement, Cash has started going to college. She knows when she must study. She knows when she needs to get her laundry and housecleaning done. She keeps in touch with the farmers in the area so she knows when there will be work, and when she's not driving her Ford Ranchero, she spends the rest of her time shooting pool in a local bar. She's quite good, and the money she wins helps pay the rent. 

Cash is a young woman who knows a lot but doesn't want much. Why dream of things she can't have (or things that will be taken away from her)? This is what her life has taught her so far. But things can change, and they are during the course of this series. Cash has even begun thinking about buying her own house because, if she does, no one can ever tell her to leave. This young woman is sad, sharp, funny, and very intuitive. It's been a pleasure getting to know her.

In Sinister Graves, Cash works to find out what happened to the dead Native girls, and it's not easy. She's going to have to deal with a whole new kind of crazy as she searches for answers. This character and her investigations are so addictive that I can't wait for the next book in the series. Bring it on!

Sinister Graves by Marcie R. Rendon

eISBN: 9781641293846

Soho Press © 2022

eBook, 240 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #3 Cash Blackbear mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

 

Shutter by Ramona Emerson

First Line: Souls don't scatter like the rest of the body.

 

Rita Todacheene is a forensic photographer for the Albuquerque Police Department. She has an uncanny knack for taking photos with such incredible detail that they've helped solve cases. 

 

What very few people don't know is that Rita sees the ghosts of crime victims, and these spirits point her in the direction of clues that other investigators overlook. Ghosts have ruled Rita's life from an early age. They are what drove her from a life on the Navajo Reservation, and they are responsible for her nightmares and lack of sleep.

 

When Rita is sent to the scene of a supposed suicide on a highway overpass, the furious ghost of the victim latches on to Rita, insisting that Rita prove she was murdered so the dead woman can have revenge on her killers. Little does Rita know, but this vengeful spirit is going to drag her right into the crosshairs of one of Albuquerque's most dangerous cartels.

 

~

 

When I read the synopsis of Shutter, I'm positive that I didn't read the whole thing. I remember seeing "forensic photographer", "Navajo Reservation", and "New Mexico", and I jumped at the chance to read it. Using my incredibly focused hindsight, I'm not entirely certain I would have read this book if I'd paid closer attention to the complete synopsis.

 

Shutter is part crime thriller, part supernatural horror, and part coming-of-age story. Which part would have kept me from reading this book? The supernatural horror part. Normally, I don't care to spend time with that particular genre. What kept me reading? The other two parts, that's what. The crime thriller was taut as a bowstring and often shocking. If gruesome depictions of crime scenes bother you, I would suggest you give this book a pass; however, I did not find the descriptions gratuitous-- they served to open wide the window into Rita's nightmarish world. The mystery wasn't easy to solve either.

 

The absolute best part of Shutter-- and the part that kept me glued to Rita's side-- was the coming of age aspect. Readers watch Rita as she grows up on the Navajo Reservation with her grandmother, who is deeply worried about Rita's "gift". The Navajo perspective of death and dealing with the dead is very different from most cultures, and I sincerely appreciated the opportunity to learn more about this.

 

Fortunately, the mystery and the coming of age aspects of Shutter helped keep me from mentally dropkicking Erma the supposed highway overpass suicide into the next world where she belonged-- talk about an annoying character! But... as much as I did enjoy the mystery and learning more about the Navajo culture, I'm not sure I would want to read another book featuring Rita. That indecision has everything to do with my own personal tastes in reading and very little to do with Shutter itself.

 

 

Shutter by Ramona Emerson

eISBN: 9781641293341

Soho Press © 2022

eBook, 312 pages

 

Thriller/Native American mystery

Rating: C+

Source: Net Galley

Girl Gone Missing by Marcie R. Rendon

 

First Line: Cash pulled herself up and out of her bedroom window.

 

In the Fargo-Moorhead area of the 1970s, the age of peace and love is beginning to wane. Nineteen-year-old Cash Blackbear is in college. Two of her classes are boring; the only two she likes are psychology and judo. If she had her way, she'd just attend those two classes, shoot pool, drink beer, smoke cigarettes, and drive beet trucks for the local farmers. 

 

Then a local teenage girl goes missing, and Cash is troubled by dreams of terrified young girls calling to her for help. She doesn't know exactly what is going on, but she intuitively feels that it's something bad. Things become even more tense when Cash has an unexpected houseguest. It's the brother that she didn't even know was alive; the two were separated as children when they were taken from the reservation and put into foster care.

With the help of her guardian and friend, Sheriff Wheaton-- and possibly even her brother-- will Cash be able to discover the truth about the missing girl... and save her before it's too late?

~

If you want to read and learn about another culture's experiences, I highly recommend that you find Marcie R. Rendon's Cash Blackbear mysteries. You will be taken straight into the life of a young Native American girl in 1970s North Dakota and Minnesota. You will learn what commonly happened to Native Americans at this time and how their lives and hopes and dreams were (almost always) warped by the experiences.

In this second Cash Blackbear mystery, Rendon shines a light on the Indian Adoption Project that was in effect from 1941 to 1967 as well as the plight of missing and murdered indigenous women that still haunts the country to this day. Cash's brother, Mo, is full of surprises and shows us how life was for many returned Vietnam veterans. I think the best part of Girl Gone Missing for me-- outside of the brilliant characterization of Cash herself-- was learning more about her friend and guardian, Sheriff Wheaton. His backstory and motivations make him even more special.

 

There is an inevitability to Girl Gone Missing that is compelling. Even though the missing girls are young and white and blond and blue-eyed, readers feel that Cash will be the exception to the rule... and they will also feel that she will be able to survive whatever experience follows. How she does it is true to her indomitable spirit. No matter how many times she's knocked down, no matter how many times she tells herself not to wish for anything, this young woman will not give up, and I for one will always cheer her on. 

 

The third book in the series, Sinister Graves, will be released in October. I can't wait. Without a doubt, Rendon's Cash Blackbear mysteries are my favorite finds of 2022. Do yourself a favor and grab the first one, Murder on the Red River. How these books can be so bleak yet so full of hope, I'll never know. But I do know that Marcie R. Rendon is an incredibly talented writer, and I want to read more. 

 

Girl Gone Missing by Marcie R. Rendon

eISBN: 9781641293792

Soho Press © 2021

eBook, 214 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #2 Cash Blackbear mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Murder on the Red River by Marcie R. Rendon

First Line: Sun-drenched wheat fields.

 

Sheriff Wheaton has kept an eye on Cash Blackbear since he pulled her from her mother's wrecked car at the age of three. Now nineteen, Cash has had her own apartment for two years. She's been working as a farm laborer since the age of eleven and supplements her income by playing pool most nights at the local bars.

 

The sheriff can see how smart Cash is and how much potential she has, but he also knows she has a special gift: she can meditate and have out-of-body experiences that give her uncanny insight. That's why she's standing next to him in a field looking at the body of a dead man.

 

Soon Cash dreams of the dead man's house on the Red Lake Reservation and the wife and children who are waiting for his return. She knows she must go there in order to find out who killed him. What she doesn't know is how dangerous that journey of discovery is going to be.

 

~

 

Author, playwright, and poet Marcie R. Rendon's Murder on the Red River left me speechless at its power. This book should be required reading in our schools because of its authentic portrayal of Native American life. As hurt, as enraged, as I was while reading certain scenes, my emotions could in no way hold a candle to those of Native Americans who have actually lived through what is depicted in this book.

While important, the death of the man found in the field often takes a backseat to Cash's life story. She's survived a succession of foster homes, beginning work as a farm laborer at the age of eleven and getting her own apartment at the age of seventeen. Now nineteen, this five foot two woman with (as she tells us) black hair down to the bottom of her butt doesn't expect anything from life. If she doesn't need it, she doesn't buy it-- the cigarettes and beer she's smoked and drank since the age of eleven she considers necessities. She is very attuned to the land and nature because "the land had never hurt her or left her." She is a small, fierce bundle of rage, and as her story unfolds, readers understand why even though they may wish she could control herself better for her own safety. When she learns that there are seven orphans that will become a part of the foster care system, she rages, "You know, every one of these farmers is working our land. They got it for free. The government gave them our land for free... And now they'll have seven more farm laborers to work our land for them...for free." Cash doesn't want the same thing happening to those seven children that happened to her. 

The legal kidnapping of Native children into the government foster care system is injustice at its finest (worst?), and through Cash, Rendon makes us feel every bit of it. Cash thinks about many things. Of working in the fields since the age of eleven. Of both her parents running away from government boarding schools. Of Native women fake speaking Spanish in order to be allowed into bars. It's 1970, and something called the American Indian Movement is beginning to be heard from, but Cash has also signed up for junior college. What's she going to do? 

 

I can't wait to find out in the next book in this series, Girl Gone Missing. What a book! What a character!

 

Murder on the Red River by Marcie R. Rendon

eISBN: 9781641293778

Soho Press © 2021

Originally published 2017.

eBook, 202 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #1 Cash Blackbear mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

First Line: I leaned back in the seat of my old Ford Pinto, listening to the sounds coming from the Depot, the reservation's only tavern.

 

Virgil Wounded Horse skates along by working an endless variety of temporary jobs, but his real occupation is as an enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. When the American legal system denies any Lakota on the reservation justice, they can hire Virgil to dispense his own-- painful and memorable-- brand of punishment.

Then heroin makes its way to the reservation and threatens Virgil's only family, his fourteen-year-old nephew, Nathan. Now it's personal, and Virgil enlists the help of his ex-girlfriend to learn where the drugs are coming from and how to make them stop. It's a journey that will force Virgil to face his own demons and to reclaim his Native identity.

~

As a rule, I avoid crime fiction involving drugs, but something told me that Winter Counts would be different. I was right. One of the greatest tools in a writer's arsenal is voice, and the voice of Virgil Wounded Horse immediately drew me into this story. You wouldn't think that a character whose main occupation is beating people to a pulp would interest me, but Virgil isn't your stereotypical violent musclebound oaf. No, Virgil has a strong moral compass which is easily seen when he's offered $5,000 to do a job for a member of the tribal council. $5,000 is more than Virgil makes in a year, but Virgil doesn't jump at the chance to earn all that money because the entire situation doesn't "smell right" to him.

Virgil, his teenage nephew Nathan, and Virgil's ex-girlfriend Marie show the effects of reservation life on three different types of people. Virgil represents what can happen to a poorly educated person on the reservation. Nathan shows us the dangers of reservation life for the young, and educated Marie shows us how many Lakota are trying to improve life on the reservation. All three characters are well-drawn and utterly believable.

Not only did I find myself immersed in the story, but Winter Counts was also a learning experience for me. I had an idea that the American legal system did Native Americans no favors, but I hadn't realized just how abysmally the law treats them. It should not have come as such a surprise. But the law wasn't the only area in which I learned new things. Winter Counts is rich in Lakota history, spirituality, culture, and food. (By the way, do not call the Lakota "Sioux"-- it's another one of those Caucasian derogatory terms.)

The only thing that kept this book from being one of my Best Reads of the year was the fact that, for a mystery, the identity of the chief bad guy and other elements were much too obvious. But with a character like Virgil and the other riches that the author serves up in Winter Counts, that's a small complaint indeed. I highly recommend this book, and I look forward to Weiden's next novel.

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

eiSBN: 9780062968968

Ecco Books © 2020

eBook, 336 pages

 

Standalone Thriller, Native American mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Spirit Woman by Margaret Coel

First Line: Father John O'Malley pulled up the collar of his jacket and dipped the brim of his cowboy hat against the hard wind whirling little pellets of snow into the air.

Legend has it that Sacajawea, the Native American woman who helped guide the Lewis and Clark expedition through the vast American wilderness, is buried on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. A college professor and longtime friend of Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden has disappeared while searching for documented evidence of that legend. 

Holden and Father John O'Malley become increasingly concerned when her missing friend is linked to another female historian who also vanished on the reservation while researching Sacajawea twenty years ago. The answer to these disappearances may lie in the pages of Sacajawea's hidden memoirs, but someone is willing to do anything to ensure they're never found.

~

It's been much too long since I've picked up one of Margaret Coel's Wind River mysteries, and The Spirit Woman was such a pleasure to read. Coel always seems to find a fascinating aspect of Native American or Western history to build her stories upon, and this time it's Sacajawea, the remarkable teenager who, with a baby strapped to her back and dealing with an abusive husband, guided Lewis and Clark. Proving that Sacajawea survived and died in old age on the Wind River Reservation among her people would be a coup for any historian, but it can't be just any proof. Historians want written documented evidence. Oral histories will not do. Rumors of Sacajawea's written memoirs are a magnet for both female college professors who have disappeared on the reservation.

The subject of abusive relationships is a major theme in The Spirit Woman, but for those readers who may find the subject too distressing, rest assured that Coel never resorts to any sort of graphic violence. It's what living under such circumstances can do to women that is the author's focus, and she deftly weaves this into the story.  

The whodunit was easy for me to deduce, but then I don't read mysteries just to see how good I am at solving crimes. For me, characterization and setting mean even more, and Coel's series has both in abundance. There's the attraction between Father John O'Malley and attorney Vicky Holden. There's how residents of the reservation react to a historian nosing around and asking questions. But even more important, there's the fact that O'Malley's boss has decided that it's time for O'Malley to move on to a different parish. His replacement shows up almost before O'Malley has a chance to hang up the phone. John is highly respected on the reservation. How are the people going to react to his leaving? The actions of the elders should make you smile. 

One of the things that kept me glued to the pages was trying to figure out how O'Malley got to stay. Let's face it... this is the sixth book in a twenty-book series, and they're all called Wind River mysteries. Father John has to stay, right? I was happy to see that my solution wasn't the right one (not that it was violent or anything, just wrong).

This is a series to savor, particularly if you love intelligent writing. The characters and the setting sing. What readers can learn about reservation life and the West is fascinating. If you haven't sampled the Wind River mysteries, I highly recommend them. Due to character development, I would suggest that you begin with the first book, The Eagle Catcher. It will be the start of a beautiful reading relationship.

The Spirit Woman by Margaret Coel

ISBN: 0425180905

Berkley Prime Crime © 2000

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

 

Native American mystery, #6 Wind River mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Paperback Swap

The Bone Seeker by M.J. McGrath

First Line: That Friday afternoon in late July was the last time Edie Kiglatuk saw Martha Salliaq alive.

Teaching summer school in the Canadian Arctic, Edie Kiglatuk is shocked when her favorite student, Martha Salliaq, is found dead in nearby Lake Turngaluk. Edie promises the Inuit girl's family that she will uncover the truth and enlists the aid of Sergeant Derek Palliser of the Ellesmere Island Native Police. While they begin their investigation, lawyer Sonia Gutierrez is working hard to overcome obstacles concerning the cleanup of Lake Turngaluk, but she's beginning to think that there is a larger conspiracy involved. What the three of them don't realize is that, while they're unearthing long-buried secrets, they're also putting their lives at risk.

 

M.J. McGrath's Edie Kiglatuk series ended at three books, but as far as I'm concerned it could have continued for much, much longer. The three books (White Heat and The Boy in the Snow are the first two) not only have absorbing mysteries to solve, they also give readers a vivid, fascinating picture of life in the Arctic Circle and of the Inuit culture. (Please do not call them "Eskimos" because that word means lice in another language.)

It's summer in the Arctic, and one of the things McGrath has her characters show us is how people deal (or don't) with twenty-four-hour-a-day sunlight. Camp Nanook is a summer military encampment not far from the village where Edie is teaching, and I was shocked to learn that "...thirty per cent of Arctic postings returned to the south with some kind of mental disorder." Scary stuff, right? The mystery is a good brain teaser for armchair sleuths since it involves the history of the Distant Early Warning line formed by Canada and the U.S. during the Cold War. Not only are there Inuits involved in Martha Salliaq's murder, but readers also have to navigate suspicious governmental goings-on.

The investigation is hampered, as always, by the government consistently giving the Inuit the short end of the stick. Edie and Sergeant Palliser have to wait days to receive extra help such as the most basic forensics equipment, and all the while, officers in nearby Camp Nanook are working in the shadows to find out what Edie and Palliser know-- and how to prevent them from learning anything more. 

The Bone Seeker benefits from an exceptionally strong cast of characters. Derek Palliser, derisively called "Lemming Police" by the locals, finds himself upping his game in light of Edie's passion for the truth even though he's hampered by insomnia. Edie's hunting skills translate well into a homicide investigation, and well, she's just a force of nature. "Only set of rules I know is mine...And I don't have any." A welcome addition to the cast is the lawyer Sonia Gutierrez from Guatemala. She has her own shadowy past, and after working for years on a lawsuit to force the government to clean up this area of Ellesmere Island, scarcely anything gets past her razor-sharp intellect and unflinching gaze. Whatever you do, don't mess with Edie and Sonia!

There's more than meets the eye to the title of this book, and when you come to that part (as I hope you will), you may find a chill running down your spine and a tear in your eye. The Bone Seeker works well as a standalone, but if you love mysteries with strong unconventional characters and learning about other cultures, I highly recommend that you read all three books in order. Then you will join me in wishing Edie Kiglatuk would appear to solve another mystery up at the Arctic Circle.

The Bone Seeker by M.J. McGrath

ISBN: 9780143127475

Penguin Books © 2014

Paperback, 368 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #3 Edie Kiglatuk mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Book Outlet.

The Lost Bird by Margaret Coel

First Line: He was late.

There's a first time for everything. Father John O'Malley finally has an assistant who actually requested to be there with him on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Father Joseph had been there several years ago, and most of the Arapaho remember him well. But with the good comes the unthinkable: Father John is shot dead, and since he was driving Father John's old Toyota, Father John is convinced that the bullet was meant for him. 

Consumed with anger and guilt, he is determined to find the killer, and along the way he teams up with Arapaho lawyer Vicky Holden. When they discover that Father John had ties to one of Vicky's cases, they know there's no time to waste.

If you love crime fiction with a strong Native American element and you haven't read Margaret Coel's Wind River mysteries, I urge you to get your hands on them and start reading. (They're best read in order, so begin with The Eagle Catcher.) I learned about them while attending an author event in which Coel appeared with William Kent Krueger. I got the first book in the series, and I haven't looked back since.

Coel is a wonderful stylist. The Wyoming landscape, the history of the area, the characters, the mysteries, and the Arapaho culture are all woven into seamless narratives that are difficult to put down. Everything she writes has such a ring of truth to it, and so much heart that readers learn the Arapaho Way whether or not they realize it. 

At the heart of The Lost Bird is a heartbreaking subject that's dealt with honestly and with great sensitivity. As the story unfolds so do more facets of the characters' lives. Father John and Vicky both have emotional revelations to deal with, and Father John also has a surprise visit from his niece Megan which will also cause him great soul-searching. 

There are always many layers to these Wind River mysteries, but Coel is the type of writer who keeps a smooth pace while never wasting a word. It's taking me a while to get through this series, but that's my plan. I aim to savor each and every book... and to mourn when I finally read the last installment, Winter's Child.
 

The Lost Bird by Margaret Coel

ISBN: 0425170306

Berkley © 2000

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Native American Mystery, #5 Wind River Reservation mystery

Rating: A

Source: Paperback Swap 


 

Death on the Greasy Grass by C.M. Wendelboe

First Line: Sun-bleached wood creaked under Willie With Horn's weight as he made his way up past others who were sitting in the stands waiting for the Real Bird Little Big Horn Reenactment to begin.

FBI agent Manny Tanno is on vacation with tribal police officer Willie With Horn. In Garryowen, Montana, all Manny wants is to soak up a little history by watching a reenactment of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Instead he's dragged right into the middle of an investigation when one of the reenactors is shot and killed.

The man who was killed had found Levi Star Dancer's journal. Star Dancer was a Crow Indian scout for Custer, and he listed a lot of secrets in his journal that the families of those involved do not want to have shown in the light of day. The dead man's willingness to sell Star Dancer's journal to the highest bidder undoubtedly led to his death. Now all Manny has to do is figure out who-- which isn't going to be easy because the killer will stop at nothing to make sure the past stays buried.

Wendelboe's Spirit Road mysteries are valuable reading on several levels. Good mysteries, vivid settings, multi-faceted characters, and laugh-out-loud humor are some of them, but the most important one to me is the chance to see the world through the eyes of Indians. (I know. I didn't call them Native Americans. Neither do they.) FBI agent Manny Tanno has worked for many years in Washington, DC, so he hasn't really been enjoying his "banishment" back to the Rez-- the Lakota reservation in South Dakota.

"Don't worry about it." Manny had heard comments like that all his life: people surprised that an Indian drove a decent car or wore neat clothes or shopped in public with children that were clean and well behaved.

Wendelboe shows us the problems that are faced every day on reservations throughout this country: domestic violence, alcoholism, unemployment, drugs. In Death on the Greasy Grass he also shows us another-- the sale of Indian artifacts-- by creating the fascinating story of an Indian survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. That this survivor goes on to learn how to succeed in the white world is more than a bit gratifying.

While Manny is traveling around listening to polka music and interviewing all the suspects, we also watch women dealing with the fact that the men they love are dedicated to jobs in law enforcement that may very well kill them. This all makes for a page-turning story with a very interesting resolution. I doubt there will be more Manny Tanno mysteries, and I will miss them. This FBI agent taught me well, and he made me laugh. If you like mysteries with Indian settings, give C.M. Wendelboe's Spirit Road mysteries a try.
    

Death on the Greasy Grass by C.M. Wendelboe

ISBN: 9780425263259

Berkley Prime Crime © 2013

Paperback, 373 pages

Native American Mystery, #3 Spirit Road mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.