Every once in a while you get blown away by a story that really packs a punch. I decided to review this book simply from the synopsis. The plight of Native American female disappearance and murder rates is astounding, and I wanted to learn more.
Deeply impactful, this is a book that you will remember for a long time. Read my full review below.
Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie
Publisher: Berkley (October 31, 2023)
ISBN-13: 978-0593550113
SYNOPSIS:
There are secrets in the land.
As an archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Syd Walker spends her days in Rhode Island trying to protect the land’s indigenous past, even as she’s escaping her own.
While Syd is dedicated to her job, she’s haunted by a night of violence she barely escaped in her Oklahoma hometown fifteen years ago. Though she swore she’d never go back, the past comes calling.
When a skull is found near the crime scene of her youth, just as her sister, Emma Lou, vanishes, Syd knows she must return home. She refuses to let her sister’s disappearance, or the remains, go ignored—as so often happens in cases of missing Native women.
But not everyone is glad to have Syd home, and she can feel the crosshairs on her. Still, the deeper Syd digs, the more she uncovers about a string of missing indigenous women cases going back decades. To save her sister, she must expose a darkness in the town that no one wants to face—not even Syd.
The truth will be unearthed.
Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie Review
It’s not often that a book comes around that consumes you. With the astounding rates of disappearance and violence against indigenous Native American women, I wanted to read this book to hopefully learn more. Not only will the story blow you away, but the author has a raw talent that will suck you right into the storyline and not let you go until long after you turn that last page.
This author has developed an amazing story that combines multiple issues that the Native American deals with in their community —missing women, loss of land, loss of homes and businesses, and the loss of respect that is still prevalent today. Wrapped around an intricate story and plot, we are transported to Oklahoma in search of a missing sister and others.
Lillie shows us her passion and commitment to telling the story in a vivid, highly descriptive manner. Not knowing if you’re in the middle of a dream or inside the plot itself, we become one with the story and deeply feel what our main character is feeling. Fear, frustration, untrusting, frantic, fragile, emotional. It’s a roller coaster that pulls us deeper into the story.
Blood Sisters is fast-paced and ties together a mystery along with suspense and thriller aspects that captivate your senses. The story leaves you emotional and deeply touched as you follow the main character throughout the book.
Blood Sisters is definitely an experience and a story that will make you a bit angry and frustrated as you learn more and more about the Native American plight. Lillie has captured all of those emotions and laid them out into a stunning mystery that digs deep and becomes a story you certainly will not forget.
Powerful and impactful, my heart breaks for these women. This book faithfully honors the lost. Well done!
5 STARS!!
Disclaimer: Chris has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free ebook so she could evaluate and use it for this post. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.
Hi! I’m Chris! Just a Midlife Wife sharing about life’s journey; screaming and kicking through it while supposedly aging gracefully…
Focusing on healthy living, low carb & keto, things I am loving right now, and life in general.