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Dear Reader,

When I set out to write Looking for Smoke, the characters came to me first. I saw their family relationships, their emotional wounds, the baggage they carry. I felt for them before they even made it onto the page because, while their stories are fictional, I knew they would intertwine with the emotional realities of real families and communities who are dealing with the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

The numbers speak for themselves: 84% of Native women have experienced violence and 56% have experienced sexual violence. The murder rate of Native women is three times more than that of white women, and in some locations, the rate is more than ten times the national average. In writing the story of Blackfeet teenagers grappling with the disappearance and murder of their classmates, I hoped to shine a light not only on this issue, but on the strength and hope of the Native communities affected by it.

On its surface, this book is a propulsive thriller in which teenage suspects must clear their names while a killer is still in their midst. At its heart, it’s a story of resilience, community, and fighting for your loved ones despite the costs. It’s about the great lengths we would go to protect our family members and the profound sense of loss, anger, and thirst for justice we feel when we fail to do so.

If there’s one wish I have for this book, it’s that these characters will make you feel something. Like countless Natives today, they want change. They want outrage. They want their voices heard. I hope they stick with you long after the book ends.

- K.A. Cobell