Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie

October 31, 2023

I wanted to love Vanessa Lillie’s Blood Sisters. It features a Cherokee woman working as an archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Narragansett land in Rhode Island. Lillie herself is Cherokee, and lives in Rhode Island. I liked the book, but I...

Never Name the Dead by D.M. Rowell

November 07, 2022

D.M. Rowell’s debut, Never Name the Dead, is a fascinating mystery enshrouded in the history and culture of the Kiowa of Oklahoma. Although it takes place in only one day, it’s a slow-paced story that fits the skill and style of a tribal story keeper. Mud...

Funeral Train by Laurie Loewenstein

October 01, 2022

When I reviewed Laurie Loewenstein’s Death of a Rainmaker in 2018, I considered it one of the best books I read that year, and it went on Library Journal’s Best Books list. Funeral Train, the sequel, is another atmospheric novel, although it doesn’t...

Nail’s Crossing by Kris Lackey

August 24, 2022

Somewhere buried in Kris Lackey’s first Bill Maytubby and Hannah Bond mystery, Nail’s Crossing, is a plot. That plot is underneath so many chase scenes that I lost count, including one chase scene with Maytubby piloting an airplane. But, I did like...

Frontier Follies by Ree Drummond

December 05, 2020

Ree Drummond’s Frontier Follies was all I had hoped for in her memoir, the story of her family and life on the Drummond Ranch. I watch “The Pioneer Woman” on TV, but I watch for the anecdotes and scenes of ranch life. I don’t use her recipes or cooking equipment. I...