March is proving true to character with one foot firmly planted in winter and the other flirting with spring. So wonderful to see the longer days, the return of the Canadian geese and the feel the promise of spring. On the Canadian prairies, spring doesn’t fully show her face until the end of April or beginning of May. But she’s on her way.

Murder on the Red River, A Cash Blackbear Mystery by Marcie R. Rendon

Published: Penguin Random House, April 2022

Categories: Suspense / Mystery / Paranormal Mystery /

Blurb:

1970s, Red River Valley between North Dakota and Minnesota: Renee “Cash” Blackbear is 19 years old and tough as nails. She lives in Fargo, North Dakota, where she drives truck for local farmers, drinks beer, plays pool, and helps solve criminal investigations through the power of her visions. She has one friend, Sheriff Wheaton, her guardian, who helped her out of the broken foster care system.

One Saturday morning, Sheriff Wheaton is called to investigate a pile of rags in a field and finds the body of an Indian man. When Cash dreams about the dead man’s weathered house on the Red Lake Reservation, she knows that’s the place to start looking for answers. Together, Cash and Wheaton work to solve a murder that stretches across cultures in a rural community traumatized by racism, genocide, and oppression.

Thoughts:

First off I want to stress that this is not a cozy mystery. The content of this book deals with the harsh realities Native Americans faced in the 1970s and that makes for some hard reading. You will find racial slurs directed towards Native Americans and Vietnamese people. There is themes of alcoholism and past foster care abuse.

Renee ‘Cash’ Blackbear is one fierce heroine. At the young age of 19, she’s not intimidated by much. She lives a solitary life as a truck driver who spends her off time smoking, drinking and playing pool. Oh… and she also has visions about potential crimes.

There are really two parts to this story: the mystery; and Cash’s story. Marcie Rendon, a member of the White Earth Anishinabe Nation, does a masterful job of weaving these two stories together. Cash’s past experiences lend context to the present and her abilities lead her down a dangerous trail. Her writing is as vivid and it is unflinching. Definitely recommend.

Until next time…

What’s everyone else reading?