Murder on the Red River by Marcie R. Rendon
The first in a mystery series, Murder on the Red River, features Renee “Cash” Blackbear who drives truck for cash-only and plays pool at the local bar each night. She is also a secret sidekick to the local sheriff who knows of her “gift” and needs her particular help when the body of a Native man is found. Cash travels in her dreams, finding the dead man’s wife and kids on the Red Lake Reservation. Author Marcie Rendon writes in the sensory-rich way.
Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
Joan’s husband, Victor, has been missing for a year when she wanders into a revival tent and sees him as a traveling preacher. The Reverend Eugene Wolff doesn’t know Joan and has been with the congregation for three years. Joan is undeterred; she wants the truth and her husband. I loved Joan’s support system: Zeus, her 12-year-old Johnny Cash-loving nephew and Aljean, a foul-mouthed community elder whose card-shark talents is second only to her knowledge of traditional Métis medicines. And that ending? Please read this one so I can talk about it!
Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford
Voice is something that many writers try to master, yet few succeed. This debut by Kelli Jo Ford, is spectacular. Three generations of Cherokee women live the push and pull between mothers and daughters. Set in Eastern Oklahoma and Texas, and moving from the mid-1970’s to an unspecified future, this story is about surviving a difficult life. And then something happens that is so casually dropped into the narrative, you might miss it. Wait . . . what? I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Tanis Parenteau, which added even more to the experience.