Blood Sisters

Blood Sisters is a gripping and chilling mystery/suspense that I didn’t want to put down. The MC is a Cherokee archaeologist for the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) who’s investigating two disappearances of women. One of them is her sister.

Set largely in Northeast Oklahoma, Lillie crafted such a compelling story surrounding Native heritage, land and mineral rights, missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, poverty, pollution, and drug addiction. She educates about these topics in an organic way, without the reader feeling like they’re being preached to. Themes of identity, family, loyalty, sisterhood, and generational trauma are explored. One thing that bothered me was off-page SA that seemed like it needed more attention. I show more loved the queer and Two-Spirit representation. The fact that happenings in this book were inspired by true events and the issues of MMIWG2S, land rights, etc. are real and still current today made this an especially poignant reading experience.

Altogether, this was fast-paced and full of secrets and twists. Absolutely recommended! show less

In Blood Sisters, Vanessa Lillie has crafted a compelling story rooted in the ongoing tragedy of missing indigenous women that's led by an emotionally fragile, flawed heroine. Her Oklahoma setting-- an area wrecked by endless mining for every scrap of mineral wealth it contains-- is atmospheric and unsettling. It is a land that has tainted the lives of everyone who lives there.

The search for the person responsible for these missing indigenous women is fast-paced and grabs a reader's attention, and the history of the Bureau of Indian Affairs that the author weaves into the story adds depth and understanding to the behavior of the residents, but the main focus of the entire book is Syd Walker, who as a young girl survived a murderous show more night and has been running away from it ever since.

I liked the fact that archaeologist Syd Walker has focused her career on indigenous history and that she works hard to support projects that make a brighter future possible for Native people. Her Cherokee heritage and her experiences in Oklahoma have shown her how important this is. However, I could never warm up to Syd, perhaps because she's too flawed. Her survivor's guilt is crippling. Her emotions are raw and conflicted. She can't understand why her family doesn't welcome her back with open arms. (She escaped all the gossipmongers while her family has had to live with them and their pointing fingers and whispers for the past fifteen years.) Her wife back in Rhode Island is pregnant, and Syd spends a great deal of time worrying about whether or not she's fit to be a parent. She also doesn't pay attention to good advice and tends to shoot off her mouth and run off half-cocked. Characters who put themselves in danger repeatedly aren't among my favorites. To put it mildly, her angst just wore me out.

If insecure, guilt-riddled main characters are your cup of tea, you should enjoy Blood Sisters. I did enjoy the story, but I do have to admit that I wanted to make Syd stay in her room most of the time while I did my own investigating.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) show less

I don't give very many five star ratings, but this one truly deserves it! Syd Walker is a Two Spirit Cherokee woman who works for the BIA on the east coast as an archaeologist. She is originally from northeast Oklahoma but haunting memories of childhood trauma have driven her to a new life. But now her regional director wants her to return to her home town and work for that regional director on temporary assignment. A skull has been found on Syd's parents' property with a taunting message for Syd. In addition her sister is missing, so reluctantly Syd returns. But as she seeks answers and searches desperately for Sister, the memories that have haunted her can no longer be pushed aside and she must relive her past. But there are many show more secrets her - family, friends, and even secrets buried in the ground. She must uncover them to discover the mystery of the skull and to find Sister. I read Lillie's first two books and while both were very good, this one, inho, surpasses them both. The book is populated with well developed and relatable characters and a plot that twists so many times it will spin your head around as it unravels. Haunted by ghosts, driven by need, and desperate to save her sister, Syd finds herself in over her head. There are no spoilers here, but the ending leaves open the possibility that Syd will return in another book. I hope she does. This is probably the best book I've read in 2023!! show less

This historical mystery is set in 2008. Syd Walker is an archaeologist for the BIA. She's sent home to Oklahoma when a skull is found on the land where a terrible tragedy occurred when she was young. The skull has one of Syd's old IDs in its teeth.

Syd has a number of issues. Her wife has just become pregnant, and Syd is conflicted about being a parent. She also doesn't want to go back to Oklahoma which was the site of her worst experience. But her sister Emma Lou has disappeared. Syd fears that she is using drugs again and that is why she left. She has been an addict off-and-on since she and Syd survived a home invasion that killed their best friend and her parents. But everyone insists that she wasn't using again.

Syd finds herself show more looking for her sister and trying to find out who sent the message with the skull to her. And who is leaving her cryptic clues saying "Find me." And everyone seems to be keeping secrets.

This mystery hits a lot of key notes: missing indigenous women, an area filled with poverty and drugs, and the results of lead pollution after mining is stopped. And through it all is the role of the BIA who is Syd's employer.

This was an excellent story about a woman almost consumed by survivor guilt who manages to finally come to terms with what she did. The story was packed with action and danger and even included a tornado.

I enjoyed this story and will be looking for more about Syd Walker. show less

This book is a bit different than the other Vanessa Lillie books I have read. In this novel, she examines the plight of Native Americans and how they have been pushed off their land and the drug and alcohol addictions they face. Additionally, she adds in murder!
Years earlier, Syd, Emma Lou, and Luna became blood sisters. But one night, the devil came and tried to kill them. Fighting back, only sisters Syd and Emma Lou made it out. Syd left OK and moved, becoming an archaeologist, examining graves of missing women. Now, she is called back to OK, where a skeleton has been discovered with her badge in the skeleton's mouth. When she returns, she finds that Emma Lou is missing. Syd believes the worst, that Emma Lou is using again. But show more people say it isn't true. Syd finds herself at odds with the Daweson family, the people she believes is keeping her sister captive.
The truth will turn the story on its head.
Heartbreaking and sad look at people struggling to get by. show less

Well-plotted, maybe more thriller than mystery but better than the current standard in thrillers. It should be striking how different and meaningful the story is when coming from those who should be telling it.

Syd Walker is an archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Rhode Island. She left her home in Oklahoma over a decade ago after a night of violence changed her life forever. Now her sister has disappeared, and Syd has been called home to investigate human remains found near the location of the earlier tragedy.

This was a dark and gritty mystery that I was invested in right away, though around the halfway point I started losing interest. Syd was a difficult, guilt-ridden character throughout most of the book, and her questionable actions endangered herself and others. The pacing was sluggish until the end when we’re thrown some wild twists. BLOOD SISTERS was an ok read for me, but I struggled with the pacing and melodrama.

Thank show more you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book. Opinions are my own. show less