Book Blurb:

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 back. 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.

My Review: 4 stars

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Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie is a book that gives you way more than you bargained for. Filled with family drama, the haunting number of missing girls, the Native American plight and an underlying mystery that brings the story together.

You can tell that the research was exhaustive, which made the story come alive. This really read like a movie in my head. There seems to be a lot of novels out right now about the horrific treatment of the schools for Indian children and the women that go missing. I say it’s about time these stories are coming to light in mainstream fiction.

Syd was a complex character that was well fleshed out. I felt like she was the author, sharing a true story. Working for the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) brought up a family tragedy that leaves her with long lasting trauma. Solving the mystery became much more meaningful than she’d ever imagine. A few surprising twists made the story even more compelling.

I look forward to reading more from this author!