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Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Murder on the Red River by Marcie R. Rendon

 

This is the first book in a series centered around Renee "Cash" Blackbear. It's set in the 1970s in the Red River Valley between Moorhead, Minnesota, and Fargo, North Dakota. Cash is nineteen and Native American. She works as a farm laborer driving truck, and hustles pool at night. Growing up, she was bounced around from one white foster family to another. The only constant figure in her life was the local sheriff, who still watches out for her. 

When a man from the Red Lake reservation turns up murdered near the Red River, Cash helps Sheriff Wheaton find out who the man was, and why he was killed. Because they both know no one on the reservation will talk to a white policeman. And Cash has other skills: she can spirit walk, and she sometimes has dreams about the dead that turn out to be true. 

I really liked Cash, which is good because this is a very character-driven novel. And I thought Rendon did an excellent job of capturing the feel of the 1970s, and showing the racism and sexism that existed for a woman like Cash. The mystery was also interesting. My one complaint is Cash's excessive drinking and smoking. The amount of time the author spends on Cash's habit of buying Marlboros, lighting up, smoking, stubbing out butts, sharing cigs, running out, buying more, etc. got old fast and ended up being very annoying. I hope she tones that part down in the next book. Because I definitely want to read the next few books in this series. 

Happy Reading!

43 comments:

  1. This sounds like a series with possibilities for becoming a favorite of mine. Adding it to my list but who knows when I'll ever get to it.

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    1. I know that feeling! My TBR list is long with books and series I hope I get around to reading someday. Maybe. ;D

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  2. This really sounds great. Going to do a search for it in a few minutes. We lost internet service from Sunday night to this morning, so things are starting to seem normal again...like a book search. I hate trying to do all that stuff on my tiny phone keypad.

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    1. I hear you. Being without internet service these days is almost like being without an arm.

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  3. I bought a kindle edition after reading your review. This sounds like a very good series with an interesting setting, and I hope I won't be too bothered by the smoking.

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    1. I hope you're not too bothered by the smoking thing, too, because this is a book worth reading. Cash is such a great character.

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  4. I like the sound of this. Always interested in First Nations writing. Love Louise Erdrich, too.

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    1. Erdrich is an author I still haven't read, but want to. Which of her books is your favorite?

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  5. It does sound like a good mystery with an interesting time period and with the main character being Native American. I don't like when there's constant mention of smoking and overdrinking in a story either. It's usually distracting and off-putting. Hope it gets toned down in the next story. Look forward to your thoughts on the next one! :)

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    1. Cash is such a great character, I really like her. But I do hope the author doesn't go on and on about her cigs in the next book.

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  6. I can't resist a mystery, and one with a historical fiction element to it is even more intriguing. It's a pity about excess of smoking descriptions, but that sounds like a pretty minor flaw in the bigger picture. Thanks for putting this one on my radar!

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    1. The smoking thing did get annoying, especially when I wanted to focus on the more important things that were happening in this novel, but overall I really liked this book. And the 70s setting was a big part of it. :D

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  7. This sounds like a really promising start to the series. I like the spirit walking aspect being included - that definitely adds an interesting twist.

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    1. It was a very fun and unexpected twist to this character, and I hope it shows up more in the next book!

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  8. Some authors do seem to concentrate on stupid things sometimes. A decent editor ought to point that out. One book I recently read had the heroine being endlessly 'startled '. Like with you it started to drive me insane....

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    1. :D I also hate when an author overuses the word 'smirk'. He smirked; she smirked...drives me crazy!

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  9. I like novels which show problems like racism etc.

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    1. I think you would like this one; the author does an amazing job of showing the problems facing Cash back in the 70s as both a woman and a Native American.

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  10. This sounds really intriguing! Great review, Lark! :)

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    1. I really liked the time period and setting...and especially Cash. She's a great character.

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  11. Ooh the supernatural element. I had to laugh at your comment though about the smoking!

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    1. It was so omnipresent in the novel it got annoying. I got that she smoked by chap. 3, you don't need to keep telling me over and over and over... ;D

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  12. This sounds like a good series and Cash seems like a fascinating character. Will add this book onto my wishlist. :)

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    1. I did really like Cash! The next book sounds even better.

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  13. This book sounds really good and it's great to see so many Native American novelists out there right now. Another novel in this vein is White Horse by Erika Wurth that involves crime solving and looks promising. And Murder On The Red River is available as part of my Audible membership so I just down loaded it.

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    1. I hope you get a chance to read it...and that you enjoy it as much as I did. I'm looking forward to reading the second book next month. :D

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  14. Great review! This sounds like a fantastic read.

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  15. I don't like it when something takes me out of the story like this characters smoking seems to have done. I do think that this sounds really good overall.

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    1. It really is. And the characters are certainly interesting enough to carry it as a series.

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  16. I'm glad you liked this one, Lark. it was one of my Best Reads. Although I felt as though I stank of cigarette smoke after reading it, I wasn't really bothered that much by her smoking or her drinking. For such a young person, Cash is filled with pain and rage, and I took her smoking and drinking as a way to dull them both.

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    1. NOW it lets you know who I am! Sheesh...

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    2. It's not that I was bothered by the fact that Cash smoked and drank...I was bothered by how much the author described the smoking...it got so repetitive after awhile and felt so unnecessary. But I really liked Cash! And I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series and seeing how she does at college. Thanks for recommending this series! :D (And I'm sorry Blogger's comment thing is being stupid again.)

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  17. This does sound promising--and like somebody above it does remind me of Louise Erdrich. Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse! Highly recommended.

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    1. That Erdrich does sound like a fascinating book. Thanks for the recommendation! :D

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  18. The cover makes it look good. I agree with you about all the cigarettes ugh ... I guess it's the 1970s right? But still enough already!

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    1. Halfway through I was like, Cash likes to smoke. I get it. You can move on now. ;D

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  19. Great review! I like the setting of the 70s and the protagonist sounds interesting. I'd probably get tired of the excessive smoking but I think back to the 80s and how we'd eat in restaurants filled with smoke so probably quite right for the times. So happy when restaurants finally had a non-smoking section!

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    1. The way the author captures the 70s vibe is SO good. I just wish she hadn't felt a need to describe Cash's cigarette obsession so much. But Cash is a great character, and I'll be reading the other books in this series soon.

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