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Carrie Starr #1
Mask of the Deer Woman
To find a missing young woman, the new tribal marshal must also find herself. At rock bottom following her daughter’s murder, ex-Chicago detective Carrie Starr has nowhere to go but back to her roots. Starr’s father never talked much about the reservation that raised him, but they need a new tribal marshal as much as Starr needs a place to call home. In the last decade, too many young women have disappeared from the rez. Some dead, others just… gone. Now, local college student Chenoa Cloud is missing, and Starr falls into an investigation that leaves her drowning in memories of her daughter—the girl she failed to save. Starr feels lost in this place she thought would welcome her. And when she catches a glimpse of a figure from her father’s stories, with the body of a woman and the antlers of a deer, Starr can’t shake the feeling that the fearsome spirit is watching her, following her. What she doesn’t know is whether Deer Woman is here to guide her or to seek vengeance for the lost daughters that Starr can never bring home.
11 pages, Audible Audio
First published January 21, 2025
356 people are currently reading
24331 people want to read
About the author
Laurie L. Dove
4 books164 followersLaurie L. Dove is an author at Berkley / Penguin Random House, and an award-winning journalist with a master's degree from Harvard University. Her debut novel is MASK OF THE DEER WOMAN.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 595 reviews
January 22, 2025
4.5⭐️
“Indigenous women disappeared, they disappeared twice. Once in life and once in the news.”
After a devastating personal loss, former Chicago detective Carrie Starr returns to the Saliquaw Nation reservation in Oklahoma, where her father was raised. As the newly appointed tribal marshal she has been tasked with revisiting cold cases of the disappearance of Indigenous women over the last decade - cases that have been largely ignored, almost forgotten over time due absence of local law enforcement presence on the reservation. With minimal resources at her disposal, Carrie has to juggle keeping peace among the community over proposed infrastructural changes to the area that have several entities involved who would go to any length to protect their own interests, look into the cold cases and investigate the recent disappearance of Chenoa Cloud, a local young woman reported missing by her mother. The narrative follows Carrie as she digs deep into the lives of the close-knit community- their traditions, history, beliefs and local ‘lore, the most significant of which is that of Deer Woman - a presence Carrie experiences as she struggles to reconnect with roots, deal with her own grief, find Chenoa before it’s too late and unravel the mystery behind the missing young women.
“Deer Woman felt to Starr like the embodiment of the one thing Starr believed: that enforcing the law and carrying out justice were very different.”
Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove is an intense and thought-provoking novel with an intricately plotted mystery at its core. The writing is powerful and the author has seamlessly woven the folklore/ magical realism element into the heart of the novel. The element of magical realism certainly enriches the narrative, as does the focus on Carrie’s cathartic journey as she grapples with her own loss. The plot-driven and character-driven aspects of the novel are well-balanced and the author has done a commendable job of highlighting real issues and describing life on the reservation – the sense of community and the constant struggle to protect time-honored traditions and preserve Native American history as well as the challenges faced by both older generations and youth - lack of opportunity, poverty and addiction, racism and discrimination, corruption, crimes against women and much more. The mystery is cleverly crafted and I enjoyed following Carrie as she leaves no stone unturned in her search for Chenoa and to see that justice is served. The pacing is on the slower side, but this suits the nature of the story and does not detract from the overall experience.
Overall, I found this to be an impactful read and I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.
Many thanks to Berkley Publishing Group for the digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Connect with me! ✏ Instagram ✏ My Blog ✏ The StoryGraph
“Indigenous women disappeared, they disappeared twice. Once in life and once in the news.”
After a devastating personal loss, former Chicago detective Carrie Starr returns to the Saliquaw Nation reservation in Oklahoma, where her father was raised. As the newly appointed tribal marshal she has been tasked with revisiting cold cases of the disappearance of Indigenous women over the last decade - cases that have been largely ignored, almost forgotten over time due absence of local law enforcement presence on the reservation. With minimal resources at her disposal, Carrie has to juggle keeping peace among the community over proposed infrastructural changes to the area that have several entities involved who would go to any length to protect their own interests, look into the cold cases and investigate the recent disappearance of Chenoa Cloud, a local young woman reported missing by her mother. The narrative follows Carrie as she digs deep into the lives of the close-knit community- their traditions, history, beliefs and local ‘lore, the most significant of which is that of Deer Woman - a presence Carrie experiences as she struggles to reconnect with roots, deal with her own grief, find Chenoa before it’s too late and unravel the mystery behind the missing young women.
“Deer Woman felt to Starr like the embodiment of the one thing Starr believed: that enforcing the law and carrying out justice were very different.”
Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove is an intense and thought-provoking novel with an intricately plotted mystery at its core. The writing is powerful and the author has seamlessly woven the folklore/ magical realism element into the heart of the novel. The element of magical realism certainly enriches the narrative, as does the focus on Carrie’s cathartic journey as she grapples with her own loss. The plot-driven and character-driven aspects of the novel are well-balanced and the author has done a commendable job of highlighting real issues and describing life on the reservation – the sense of community and the constant struggle to protect time-honored traditions and preserve Native American history as well as the challenges faced by both older generations and youth - lack of opportunity, poverty and addiction, racism and discrimination, corruption, crimes against women and much more. The mystery is cleverly crafted and I enjoyed following Carrie as she leaves no stone unturned in her search for Chenoa and to see that justice is served. The pacing is on the slower side, but this suits the nature of the story and does not detract from the overall experience.
Overall, I found this to be an impactful read and I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.
Many thanks to Berkley Publishing Group for the digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Connect with me! ✏ Instagram ✏ My Blog ✏ The StoryGraph
December 7, 2025
“Deer Woman felt to Starr like the embodiment of the one thing Starr believed: that enforcing the law and carrying out justice were very different.”
Marshal Carrie Starr is a flawed and memorable character. Mask of the Deer Woman is a very solid debut mystery/police procedural grounded in the dehumanization of the first people to live in North America. I loved Sisters of the Wind, and while it touched on the threat of Native women going missing and murdered, Mask of the Deer Woman takes this on, front and center. This quote really stood out and speaks to how society today continues to marginalize and keep Native Americans ‘invisible’/out of sight-out of mind.
“. . . they’re all twice gone. Once in real life and once in the news.”
The other topic threaded throughout the novel is taking advantage of tribes to get mineral rights and fossil fuels from the land they were forced to occupy. I think many people would think Mask of the Deer Woman is a worthwhile read, especially those who have read Killers of the Flower Moon, the Cork O’Connor series by William Kent Krueger, and the Leaphorn & Chee series by Tony Hillerman. I strongly recommend this debut. I hope this becomes a series like the two mentioned above.
Marshal Carrie Starr is a flawed and memorable character. Mask of the Deer Woman is a very solid debut mystery/police procedural grounded in the dehumanization of the first people to live in North America. I loved Sisters of the Wind, and while it touched on the threat of Native women going missing and murdered, Mask of the Deer Woman takes this on, front and center. This quote really stood out and speaks to how society today continues to marginalize and keep Native Americans ‘invisible’/out of sight-out of mind.
“. . . they’re all twice gone. Once in real life and once in the news.”
The other topic threaded throughout the novel is taking advantage of tribes to get mineral rights and fossil fuels from the land they were forced to occupy. I think many people would think Mask of the Deer Woman is a worthwhile read, especially those who have read Killers of the Flower Moon, the Cork O’Connor series by William Kent Krueger, and the Leaphorn & Chee series by Tony Hillerman. I strongly recommend this debut. I hope this becomes a series like the two mentioned above.
February 19, 2025
Title/Author: Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Berkley
Format: Hardcover/Audiobook
Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: Debut
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978059381...
Release Date: January 21st, 2025
General Genre: Thriller/Suspense, Crime, Paranormal, Cli-Fi, Eco-Horror
Sub-Genre/Themes: Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Grief & Loss, Death & Dying, "New Sheriff in Town", Belonging, Identity, Murder Mystery, Indigenous folklore and spirits, Myths & Legends
Writing Style: Gritty Crime Drama/Thriller style
What You Need to Know: "To find a missing young woman, the new tribal marshal must also find herself. Starr can’t shake the feeling that the fearsome spirit is watching her, following her. What she doesn’t know is whether Deer Woman is here to guide her or to seek vengeance for the lost daughters that Starr can never bring home."
My Reading Experience: Alright, horror readers, Mask of the Deer Hunter is genre-blending debut where gritty crime thriller meets eco-horror, meets indigenous folklore with unflinching social commentary and a protagonist you’re not always sure you should root for. Carrie is complicated, messy, and grieving the loss of her daughter. As the new tribal marshal, Starr is navigating the familiar tensions of trying to belong to her father's Native community, law enforcement and battling townspeople with oil interests. The novel’s examination of systemic failures is razor-sharp, though at times, Carrie’s haunted past and addiction struggles slow the momentum. Carrie's visions—are they the work of a vengeful spirit or just trauma bleeding through reality? The novel keeps you guessing, sometimes to its detriment, but I can’t help but hope for a sequel to flesh out those secondary characters.
Final Recommendation: If you love rural, small town dynamics, social commentary on issues Indigenous people face, flawed, morally gray, capable, female protagonists and a deeply layered mystery involving eco-related horrors and folklore/legends--this is your book!
Comps: An Ordinary Violence by Adriana Chartrand, Shutter by Ramona Emerson, Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Berkley
Format: Hardcover/Audiobook
Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: Debut
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978059381...
Release Date: January 21st, 2025
General Genre: Thriller/Suspense, Crime, Paranormal, Cli-Fi, Eco-Horror
Sub-Genre/Themes: Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Grief & Loss, Death & Dying, "New Sheriff in Town", Belonging, Identity, Murder Mystery, Indigenous folklore and spirits, Myths & Legends
Writing Style: Gritty Crime Drama/Thriller style
What You Need to Know: "To find a missing young woman, the new tribal marshal must also find herself. Starr can’t shake the feeling that the fearsome spirit is watching her, following her. What she doesn’t know is whether Deer Woman is here to guide her or to seek vengeance for the lost daughters that Starr can never bring home."
My Reading Experience: Alright, horror readers, Mask of the Deer Hunter is genre-blending debut where gritty crime thriller meets eco-horror, meets indigenous folklore with unflinching social commentary and a protagonist you’re not always sure you should root for. Carrie is complicated, messy, and grieving the loss of her daughter. As the new tribal marshal, Starr is navigating the familiar tensions of trying to belong to her father's Native community, law enforcement and battling townspeople with oil interests. The novel’s examination of systemic failures is razor-sharp, though at times, Carrie’s haunted past and addiction struggles slow the momentum. Carrie's visions—are they the work of a vengeful spirit or just trauma bleeding through reality? The novel keeps you guessing, sometimes to its detriment, but I can’t help but hope for a sequel to flesh out those secondary characters.
Final Recommendation: If you love rural, small town dynamics, social commentary on issues Indigenous people face, flawed, morally gray, capable, female protagonists and a deeply layered mystery involving eco-related horrors and folklore/legends--this is your book!
Comps: An Ordinary Violence by Adriana Chartrand, Shutter by Ramona Emerson, Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie
November 9, 2024
MASK OF THE DEER WOMAN, the debut novel from Author Laurie L. Dove, explores the daily tragic realities faced by Indigenous People living on reservations - the hopelessness, despair, poverty, youth lost to addiction or big cities, rape of land and resources as well as the heartbreaking, ongoing epidemic of missing Indigenous Women who disappear from reservations yearly with little to no recognition or concern from the news media or law enforcement.
After the murder of her teenage daughter left her drowning in grief and guilt with no place to turn, ex-Chicago Detective Carrie Starr finally lands a job as tribal marshal for the new Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Oklahoma reservation where her father grew up. Hoping to be accepted home, her main priority is to investigate the cold cases of missing and murdered Indigenous Women others have deemed unworthy. The urgency and stakes increase when Chenoa Cloud, a local college girl researching the possibility of an endangered species of insects on a plot of reservation land, disappears with clues pointing towards a connection to past disappearances. As Carrie begins investigating, her own dark, haunting memories surface, leaving her lost in foggy hallucinations of the Deer Woman, a mystical Indian lore figure with a female body bearing a deer's antlers - one she recalls from her father's long-ago tales, but why is she repeatedly appearing to Carrie? As she digs deeper, Carrie begins uncovering widespread corruption among the town's leaders including a get rich scheme involving oil found on reservation land. . . the same land that may be an endangered species' habitat. It's up to Carrie to connect all the pieces of the puzzle before another girl disappears. Carrie failed to save her own daughter . . . she can't let these women down.
MASK OF THE DEER WOMAN is an intense, highly atmospheric story about the plight of a nation of people long ignored by authorities as well as the news media. Most of the story unfolds through Carrie's point of view, allowing readers to ride shotgun as she frantically searches for the missing women hoping to bring closure to grieving families while trying to keep a handle on her own sanity. Carrie's repeated hazy visions set a dire tone of malice, driving a steadily rising pace as she races the clock to find the missing college student before she too is lost. The author does a fantastic job offering up red herrings with plausible motive to keep readers guessing until the final climax and reveal. The magical realism element of Indian lore is beautifully written and incorporated into the story in a manner that enhances the plot line while driving the suspense. Characters and readers are left wondering if the deer woman is friend or foe.
Author Laurie L. Dove's debut novel, MASK OF THE DEER WOMAN, is the heartbreaking story of missing and murdered Indigenous women often ignored by law enforcement. It's the story of the difficulty faced by one woman in her search to find her place in a cruel, unaccepting world that took her daughter from her – to find a place of healing where she belongs when she's pulled between two vastly different worlds, neither of which welcome her. Intense and highly visual, MASK OF THE DEER WOMAN is for fans of mysteries, suspense and heartfelt stories with a touch of magical realism.
4.5 Stars
Thank you to Berkley Publishing for a gifted arc of this title! Opinions expressed within this review are my own. This title is scheduled for release Jan. 21, 2025. My review first published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine and is now available on my blog Cross My Heart Reviews.
After the murder of her teenage daughter left her drowning in grief and guilt with no place to turn, ex-Chicago Detective Carrie Starr finally lands a job as tribal marshal for the new Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Oklahoma reservation where her father grew up. Hoping to be accepted home, her main priority is to investigate the cold cases of missing and murdered Indigenous Women others have deemed unworthy. The urgency and stakes increase when Chenoa Cloud, a local college girl researching the possibility of an endangered species of insects on a plot of reservation land, disappears with clues pointing towards a connection to past disappearances. As Carrie begins investigating, her own dark, haunting memories surface, leaving her lost in foggy hallucinations of the Deer Woman, a mystical Indian lore figure with a female body bearing a deer's antlers - one she recalls from her father's long-ago tales, but why is she repeatedly appearing to Carrie? As she digs deeper, Carrie begins uncovering widespread corruption among the town's leaders including a get rich scheme involving oil found on reservation land. . . the same land that may be an endangered species' habitat. It's up to Carrie to connect all the pieces of the puzzle before another girl disappears. Carrie failed to save her own daughter . . . she can't let these women down.
MASK OF THE DEER WOMAN is an intense, highly atmospheric story about the plight of a nation of people long ignored by authorities as well as the news media. Most of the story unfolds through Carrie's point of view, allowing readers to ride shotgun as she frantically searches for the missing women hoping to bring closure to grieving families while trying to keep a handle on her own sanity. Carrie's repeated hazy visions set a dire tone of malice, driving a steadily rising pace as she races the clock to find the missing college student before she too is lost. The author does a fantastic job offering up red herrings with plausible motive to keep readers guessing until the final climax and reveal. The magical realism element of Indian lore is beautifully written and incorporated into the story in a manner that enhances the plot line while driving the suspense. Characters and readers are left wondering if the deer woman is friend or foe.
Author Laurie L. Dove's debut novel, MASK OF THE DEER WOMAN, is the heartbreaking story of missing and murdered Indigenous women often ignored by law enforcement. It's the story of the difficulty faced by one woman in her search to find her place in a cruel, unaccepting world that took her daughter from her – to find a place of healing where she belongs when she's pulled between two vastly different worlds, neither of which welcome her. Intense and highly visual, MASK OF THE DEER WOMAN is for fans of mysteries, suspense and heartfelt stories with a touch of magical realism.
4.5 Stars
Thank you to Berkley Publishing for a gifted arc of this title! Opinions expressed within this review are my own. This title is scheduled for release Jan. 21, 2025. My review first published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine and is now available on my blog Cross My Heart Reviews.
May 3, 2025
call me crazy but she’s so bad at her job baby girl needs mandated therapy
November 10, 2025
On a surface level this book should have been right up my alley. A detective type with a drinking/substance problem (Cheetos addiction is real) a tragic backstory, a missing woman, antlers, small town dynamics, commentary on the situation of indigenous people… But I struggled to stay invested or interested, Starr never felt like a fully realized character to me and the story in general seemed rather formulaic.
January 30, 2025
An author can center their novel around an unlikable character and make them compelling, even if readers recognize how flawed they are. Marshall Carrie Starr, deputized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to investigate the disappearance of indigenous women on a reservation, is not such a character. Her self-centeredness, propensity to pull her service weapon on unarmed people, and the disdain with which she viewed the reservation and its residence made her one of the most unbearable characters I’ve encountered in ages.
Starr is still reeling from the death of her daughter and views the reservation as a holding place as she figures out what comes next. Her grief and fury, as well as the need to dull both with alcohol and pot, are understandable. The author laid the groundwork to take all that rage somewhere interesting. But though Starr behavior is increasingly unhinged - pulling her gun on an octogenarian; smoking pot while driving and careening off the road when she was supposed to be telling a family their missing daughter had been murdered; caring about the missing indigenous women only after her job is threatened - the author never treats her like the loose canon she is. Starr’s continued belief in her own righteousness demonstrates that we are supposed to see her as being in the right as well.
For example, early into her tenure as the reservation’s Marshall, Starr is called to the home of the mother of a missing daughter. She’s immediately convinced the missing woman has run away and takes an immediate dislike to the mother for asking her to do her job. Starr only becomes invested in finding the missing daughter when it becomes imperative to her keeping her job. There’s no “come to Jesus” moment where she realizes, either because of her grief or her use of alcohol/pot while in duty, that she’s let down the people she serves. Suddenly (and mostly because she is told she will be let go if she doesn’t get things under control) Starr decides she will invest time in finding the reservation’s missing women.
Starr threatens people with her service pistol at least four times. It makes her come off as a bully. She thinks about the people she serves with disdain and of how much she wants to leave the reservation. (She can’t. It’s the only job she could get after gunning a man down while on the job in Chicago). Without demonstrating her evolution from bully to hero, or that we are supposed to see Starr as dangerous, the author just created a wholly unlikable character.
Without Starr, this novel would have been three stars, because the themes it addresses are important and relevant. And the mystery at its heart is a compelling one. But so much of Mask of a Deer Woman focuses on its unhinged protagonist.
Starr is still reeling from the death of her daughter and views the reservation as a holding place as she figures out what comes next. Her grief and fury, as well as the need to dull both with alcohol and pot, are understandable. The author laid the groundwork to take all that rage somewhere interesting. But though Starr behavior is increasingly unhinged - pulling her gun on an octogenarian; smoking pot while driving and careening off the road when she was supposed to be telling a family their missing daughter had been murdered; caring about the missing indigenous women only after her job is threatened - the author never treats her like the loose canon she is. Starr’s continued belief in her own righteousness demonstrates that we are supposed to see her as being in the right as well.
For example, early into her tenure as the reservation’s Marshall, Starr is called to the home of the mother of a missing daughter. She’s immediately convinced the missing woman has run away and takes an immediate dislike to the mother for asking her to do her job. Starr only becomes invested in finding the missing daughter when it becomes imperative to her keeping her job. There’s no “come to Jesus” moment where she realizes, either because of her grief or her use of alcohol/pot while in duty, that she’s let down the people she serves. Suddenly (and mostly because she is told she will be let go if she doesn’t get things under control) Starr decides she will invest time in finding the reservation’s missing women.
Starr threatens people with her service pistol at least four times. It makes her come off as a bully. She thinks about the people she serves with disdain and of how much she wants to leave the reservation. (She can’t. It’s the only job she could get after gunning a man down while on the job in Chicago). Without demonstrating her evolution from bully to hero, or that we are supposed to see Starr as dangerous, the author just created a wholly unlikable character.
Without Starr, this novel would have been three stars, because the themes it addresses are important and relevant. And the mystery at its heart is a compelling one. But so much of Mask of a Deer Woman focuses on its unhinged protagonist.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2025
Magical realism books don't work for me that often (I prefer things to be clearly defined), so I'm glad this one did.
The audiobook was excellent, and very atmospheric. The mystery was really good, I wasn't sure what was really going on until the end.
The book also managed to cover so many important topics through social commentary, which at no point felt forced.
The only thing that bugged me a bit was how Starr acted at the start, she didn't seem to take the missing cases seriously, and it took her a while to get her shit together. I would've liked to have seen a bit more development in regards to that, instead of, basically, a switch being flipped in her head and now she's all in.
But I really enjoyed it, I've already taken note of when the second book is going to release and I'll be on the look out for it.
P.S. If you liked this, you'll also like the Cash Blackbear series.
The audiobook was excellent, and very atmospheric. The mystery was really good, I wasn't sure what was really going on until the end.
The book also managed to cover so many important topics through social commentary, which at no point felt forced.
The only thing that bugged me a bit was how Starr acted at the start, she didn't seem to take the missing cases seriously, and it took her a while to get her shit together. I would've liked to have seen a bit more development in regards to that, instead of, basically, a switch being flipped in her head and now she's all in.
But I really enjoyed it, I've already taken note of when the second book is going to release and I'll be on the look out for it.
P.S. If you liked this, you'll also like the Cash Blackbear series.
January 9, 2025
4.25 stars - thank you Berkeley Pub for the free book!
I loved so much about this book. I love the social commentary on how missing indigenous people are not given the same attention as their white counterparts in the media. I loved the small town vibes full of betrayal, drama, personal and business vendettas. Excellent debut
Further thoughts: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTYwbSvFE/
I loved so much about this book. I love the social commentary on how missing indigenous people are not given the same attention as their white counterparts in the media. I loved the small town vibes full of betrayal, drama, personal and business vendettas. Excellent debut
Further thoughts: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTYwbSvFE/
November 5, 2025
A powerful and moving detective story full of Native lore, and forensics details. The imagery of the antlers was very spooky, and symbolic. Most of the characters are Native, or part Native, and we get a glimpse at the squalor of life on the reservation. The themes were beautifully wrapped up at the end, bringing meaning to traumatic experience.
October 11, 2025
Laurie Dove introduces us to former Chicago police detective Carrie Starr, who is mired in a whiskey-and-weed-soaked depression following her daughter's murder and Starr's tanking of her own career when she exacted revenge upon the killer. She's offered a last-chance lifeline as sole law enforcement officer of the Saliquaw Nation, a (fictional) reservation that straddles the Oklahoma-Kansas border. Her indigenous heritage, courtesy of a long-passed father, stamps her passport into the rez, but does not guarantee her acceptance.
Starr is given an ailing Ford Bronco and a closet office from which to monitor the vast but sparsely populated rez. The small town that borders the tribe hopes to entice an oil company to reinvigorate its fading economy. Days before the new marshal arrives, a graduate student and member of Saliquaw Nation disappears while searching for an endangered beetle deep in the prairie river ravines–a creature that could upend plans to frack for oil on tribal lands. Just when she thinks she can disappear into the oblivion of booze and a big fat spliff, Carrie Starr has to show up and hope to save a young woman, despite the fact that she couldn't save her own daughter.
There's not a lot of relief from misery here. The rez and its residents are deeply depressed. Its economic and social future is grim, and many more of its daughters have gone missing over the years with little interest from the outside world. Carrie Starr, even as she doggedly pursues leads, travels through the rez and back country on fumes, ever hungover and on the brink of hopelessness.
The novel excels within the Saliquaw reservation: Dove's setting and her characters are vivid, sympathetic and achingly real. She perfectly captures Carrie's dissonance at being both a member of the Saliquaw Nation and yet an awkward outsider, as well as the deep pride and determination of tribal members to retain their culture and independence in the face of indifference and neglect.
Dove weaves in a native legend of the Deer Woman that becomes a hallucinatory element of magical realism. This often feels labored, however, and more a product of Starr's impaired state than a spiritual guide. The subplot of a scheming mayor, landowner, and a city official are less successful. These are two-dimensional caricatures who unfortunately carry the burden of the denouement, which is hasty and unbelievable.
Mask of the Deer Woman is a beautifully written and atmospheric, albeit uneven, police procedural that is best read as an exploration of identity and forgiveness.
Starr is given an ailing Ford Bronco and a closet office from which to monitor the vast but sparsely populated rez. The small town that borders the tribe hopes to entice an oil company to reinvigorate its fading economy. Days before the new marshal arrives, a graduate student and member of Saliquaw Nation disappears while searching for an endangered beetle deep in the prairie river ravines–a creature that could upend plans to frack for oil on tribal lands. Just when she thinks she can disappear into the oblivion of booze and a big fat spliff, Carrie Starr has to show up and hope to save a young woman, despite the fact that she couldn't save her own daughter.
There's not a lot of relief from misery here. The rez and its residents are deeply depressed. Its economic and social future is grim, and many more of its daughters have gone missing over the years with little interest from the outside world. Carrie Starr, even as she doggedly pursues leads, travels through the rez and back country on fumes, ever hungover and on the brink of hopelessness.
The novel excels within the Saliquaw reservation: Dove's setting and her characters are vivid, sympathetic and achingly real. She perfectly captures Carrie's dissonance at being both a member of the Saliquaw Nation and yet an awkward outsider, as well as the deep pride and determination of tribal members to retain their culture and independence in the face of indifference and neglect.
Dove weaves in a native legend of the Deer Woman that becomes a hallucinatory element of magical realism. This often feels labored, however, and more a product of Starr's impaired state than a spiritual guide. The subplot of a scheming mayor, landowner, and a city official are less successful. These are two-dimensional caricatures who unfortunately carry the burden of the denouement, which is hasty and unbelievable.
Mask of the Deer Woman is a beautifully written and atmospheric, albeit uneven, police procedural that is best read as an exploration of identity and forgiveness.
January 3, 2025
This intriguing debut focuses on a Chicago detective who leaves her position under a cloud and takes a job as a Marshall on the Oklahoma rez her father grew up on. She abuses alcohol, is still grieving the murder of her daughter, and is now tasked with finding a woman who has gone missing there. Turns out there are more women who have gone missing without much effort to find them. I would have liked this more if the MFC had been more likable. Hope that occurs if this becomes a series.
March 26, 2025
This was our March pick for our book club!
January 20, 2025
The Mask of the Deer Woman is so atmospheric, it completely transported me to Oklahoma and to the rez. The characters were brought to life, so vivid, so real.
The MC, Marshall Carrie Starr, was recently sent to the rez to represent the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Carrie has a lot of demons she's personally battling while trying to protect the rez, most specifically to get to the bottom of numerous missing women.
The story is truly heartbreaking and not the first I have read to tackle the tragedy of missing Native American women. It really paints a sad picture of the inequities experienced and the lack of consideration and protection for the Indigenous community. I'm not sure what the solution is, but education is a good first step. The Mask of the Deer Woman helps spread the information, and the more people who are aware, the greater chance of making a difference. I enjoyed both the author's note and acknowledgements, heartwarming and transparent.
It's a solid debut and I am looking forward to more by Laurie Dove.
The MC, Marshall Carrie Starr, was recently sent to the rez to represent the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Carrie has a lot of demons she's personally battling while trying to protect the rez, most specifically to get to the bottom of numerous missing women.
The story is truly heartbreaking and not the first I have read to tackle the tragedy of missing Native American women. It really paints a sad picture of the inequities experienced and the lack of consideration and protection for the Indigenous community. I'm not sure what the solution is, but education is a good first step. The Mask of the Deer Woman helps spread the information, and the more people who are aware, the greater chance of making a difference. I enjoyed both the author's note and acknowledgements, heartwarming and transparent.
It's a solid debut and I am looking forward to more by Laurie Dove.
March 13, 2025
What I like about it: brings attention to MMIW. I love deer lady
What I didn’t like: I’m with the masses here when I say the MC was insufferable (she’s annoying, cliche, and does not care enough about the missing woman). I also feel like I already read this book(it reminded me too much of Murder in the Red River). Animal death. Not enough deer woman.
3.75⭐️0💕4🎧
What I didn’t like: I’m with the masses here when I say the MC was insufferable (she’s annoying, cliche, and does not care enough about the missing woman). I also feel like I already read this book(it reminded me too much of Murder in the Red River). Animal death. Not enough deer woman.
3.75⭐️0💕4🎧
May 27, 2025
She's indigenous
but adopted. Made up tribe;
used myth and missing.
I was so disappointed in this book. So disappointed. And maybe I'm not being fair, but I would think that someone with a Harvard degree (how do you know if someone went to Harvard? don't worry--they'll tell you, with 4 mentions in the acknowledgements) would do a better job with cultural competency? I'm not sure what to call it.
Let me say first that the story had a lot going on, and the ties between the Deer Woman, the murders, and the oil pipeline were flimsy but enough to be credible. It did make sense in the end, and all the different POVs and characters were necessary and useful to make the story go. And, like other reviewers, I really struggled with Carrie Starr's alcohol and drug dependency. First, because it seemed barely credible that someone who was constantly drinking and smoking weed to dull herself to her emotions and surroundings was sharp enough to solve the case; and second because it seemed to uncritically confirm stereotypes of rez life (as did several other characters, and the whole drinking and drug vibe of the reservation and town). So, the mystery was good and believable, but the MC was awful and incredible.
But then, the indigenous rep... Dove was adopted by Mennonites from an indigenous tribe she doesn't name, and she says in the acknowledgements that the book was part of her process reconciling her indigenous heritage with her upbringing in a white, Christian community. So, it's her story, and she can tell it, and I read it, but, boy howdy, it felt really off to me. She made up a tribe. I don't get that. There are lots of tribes, and it feels like insane laziness to make up a tribe rather than research a real tribe. It also feels like insane racism, to put together a tribe based on a collection of stereotypes--poverty, drunkenness, violence, missing women, spirituality, wise women and elders, dying communities, casinos, tangled family trees, environmentalism. Like if I, who has no Native heritage, made up a tribe and set a murder mystery there, I would be rightly called out. And no-one is calling out Dove.
And Deer Woman is a native mythological figure, and she's pretty much used canonically. And Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW) report that murder is the 3rd leading cause of death for Indigenous women and that they are 10x more likely to be murdered than any other racial group. And all that's used to build a story, which is fine, I guess, but felt wayass more exploitative than illuminating. Drunken Carrie Starr's contempt for the reservation and her complete lack of knowledge about her own family, and her loss of any memory of time spent there, and her resentment of her alcoholic Indian father, and her halfass commitment to solving the crime and working on the missing woman backlog was contemptible.
I do not want to call someone not Indigenous enough, and I feel like that's what I'm doing here. Carrie (and Laurie) confess to feeling not Indigenous enough, and that's a source of pain. But the book isn't Indigenous enough, in that too many important things are either made up or used as structural devices. And I'm so disappointed, and honestly a little disgusted.
but adopted. Made up tribe;
used myth and missing.
I was so disappointed in this book. So disappointed. And maybe I'm not being fair, but I would think that someone with a Harvard degree (how do you know if someone went to Harvard? don't worry--they'll tell you, with 4 mentions in the acknowledgements) would do a better job with cultural competency? I'm not sure what to call it.
Let me say first that the story had a lot going on, and the ties between the Deer Woman, the murders, and the oil pipeline were flimsy but enough to be credible. It did make sense in the end, and all the different POVs and characters were necessary and useful to make the story go. And, like other reviewers, I really struggled with Carrie Starr's alcohol and drug dependency. First, because it seemed barely credible that someone who was constantly drinking and smoking weed to dull herself to her emotions and surroundings was sharp enough to solve the case; and second because it seemed to uncritically confirm stereotypes of rez life (as did several other characters, and the whole drinking and drug vibe of the reservation and town). So, the mystery was good and believable, but the MC was awful and incredible.
But then, the indigenous rep... Dove was adopted by Mennonites from an indigenous tribe she doesn't name, and she says in the acknowledgements that the book was part of her process reconciling her indigenous heritage with her upbringing in a white, Christian community. So, it's her story, and she can tell it, and I read it, but, boy howdy, it felt really off to me. She made up a tribe. I don't get that. There are lots of tribes, and it feels like insane laziness to make up a tribe rather than research a real tribe. It also feels like insane racism, to put together a tribe based on a collection of stereotypes--poverty, drunkenness, violence, missing women, spirituality, wise women and elders, dying communities, casinos, tangled family trees, environmentalism. Like if I, who has no Native heritage, made up a tribe and set a murder mystery there, I would be rightly called out. And no-one is calling out Dove.
And Deer Woman is a native mythological figure, and she's pretty much used canonically. And Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW) report that murder is the 3rd leading cause of death for Indigenous women and that they are 10x more likely to be murdered than any other racial group. And all that's used to build a story, which is fine, I guess, but felt wayass more exploitative than illuminating. Drunken Carrie Starr's contempt for the reservation and her complete lack of knowledge about her own family, and her loss of any memory of time spent there, and her resentment of her alcoholic Indian father, and her halfass commitment to solving the crime and working on the missing woman backlog was contemptible.
I do not want to call someone not Indigenous enough, and I feel like that's what I'm doing here. Carrie (and Laurie) confess to feeling not Indigenous enough, and that's a source of pain. But the book isn't Indigenous enough, in that too many important things are either made up or used as structural devices. And I'm so disappointed, and honestly a little disgusted.
July 6, 2025
I must say I enjoyed this book. Carrie Starr, an ex-Chicago detective who is used to solving many cases, is ill suited to the Saliquaw Nation reservation where she gets a job as the marshal. Starr may be part Saliquaw herself, but she grew up in a city so she doesn't know exactly how to handle problems that pop up in the huge expanse of wilderness that is out there: ravines, cliffs, huge stretches of land and there are no roads. Heck, she's scared of just seeing deer! But when a young college age woman goes missing, named Chenoa, it's her job to find her.
And then a body is found. But it's not Chenoa.
Starr's problem just got worse...
I didn't exactly like Starr. But I didn't dislike her either. I was at first confused by some of the things she was doing. Because Starr has her own serious problems she is trying to deal with at the same time. And that is interfering with her job. I do think that is realistic. So this is a story about mental health and Starr is struggling with her own guilt over past actions. But near the end of the story I grew to understand her much better. Throughout most of the story it's almost like she has a disability.
This story is a mystery and that part is quite good. There are many possible suspects and it was difficult to guess exactly who it could be. The story also has a nice supernatural twist to it, involving Deer Woman.
Now that I understand Starr, I would like to see her solve another case. Perhaps she could start getting the skills she needs to work on the reservation more successfully, like to learn how to ride a horse or how to camp outside. Because relying on a cat clearly doesn't work.
The book does an excellent job of telling the conflict between what nature needs to prosper versus what some men want to get wealthy. The two don't agree. And that argument is at the center of the story. Does the rights of wildlife no matter how tiny it may be - more important than oil or mining?
The book also has a nice climax with a few twists right at the end.
And then a body is found. But it's not Chenoa.
Starr's problem just got worse...
I didn't exactly like Starr. But I didn't dislike her either. I was at first confused by some of the things she was doing. Because Starr has her own serious problems she is trying to deal with at the same time. And that is interfering with her job. I do think that is realistic. So this is a story about mental health and Starr is struggling with her own guilt over past actions. But near the end of the story I grew to understand her much better. Throughout most of the story it's almost like she has a disability.
This story is a mystery and that part is quite good. There are many possible suspects and it was difficult to guess exactly who it could be. The story also has a nice supernatural twist to it, involving Deer Woman.
Now that I understand Starr, I would like to see her solve another case. Perhaps she could start getting the skills she needs to work on the reservation more successfully, like to learn how to ride a horse or how to camp outside. Because relying on a cat clearly doesn't work.
The book does an excellent job of telling the conflict between what nature needs to prosper versus what some men want to get wealthy. The two don't agree. And that argument is at the center of the story. Does the rights of wildlife no matter how tiny it may be - more important than oil or mining?
The book also has a nice climax with a few twists right at the end.
January 15, 2025
4.25 stars!
BOOK REVIEW 📖
Thank you @berkleypub & @prhaudio for my #gifted copies.
Mask of the Deer Woman
Laurie L. Dove
Available 1/21
📖 Former Chicago detective Carrie Starr is the new Bureau of Indian Affairs tribal marshal on the Saliquaw reservation in Oklahoma. Her first task: find the young Indigenous woman who went missing days before Starr's arrival.
Starr is an admirable protagonist. She's rough-around-the-edges, no nonsense, and is still reeling from her own tragedy back in Chicago. This lends an authenticity to her I really appreciate. While Indigenous (on her father's side), Starr is an outsider, and pretty disconnected from the realities of Indigenous folks on the rez. The reader gets a front row seat as she uncovers the harsh realities faced by her kinfolk, in particular the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Overall I really enjoyed this multilayered, supernatural mystery about a really important—and real life—issue that plagues Indigenous communities. I especially appreciate the way Dove unpacks a lot of the "why." Why are Indigenous women disproportionately missing and murdered? We learn about political implications, jurisdiction battles, lack of funding, lack of resources, poverty, addiction, and so much more. The incorporation of Native folklore was a nice touch, and fit well with the theme of the story.
Mask of the Deer Woman is both educational and impactful, and I absolutely recommend it.
🎧 I was pleased to hear #ownvoices narrator Isabella Star Lablanc narrating the audiobook!
.
.
.
.
BOOK REVIEW 📖
Thank you @berkleypub & @prhaudio for my #gifted copies.
Mask of the Deer Woman
Laurie L. Dove
Available 1/21
📖 Former Chicago detective Carrie Starr is the new Bureau of Indian Affairs tribal marshal on the Saliquaw reservation in Oklahoma. Her first task: find the young Indigenous woman who went missing days before Starr's arrival.
Starr is an admirable protagonist. She's rough-around-the-edges, no nonsense, and is still reeling from her own tragedy back in Chicago. This lends an authenticity to her I really appreciate. While Indigenous (on her father's side), Starr is an outsider, and pretty disconnected from the realities of Indigenous folks on the rez. The reader gets a front row seat as she uncovers the harsh realities faced by her kinfolk, in particular the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Overall I really enjoyed this multilayered, supernatural mystery about a really important—and real life—issue that plagues Indigenous communities. I especially appreciate the way Dove unpacks a lot of the "why." Why are Indigenous women disproportionately missing and murdered? We learn about political implications, jurisdiction battles, lack of funding, lack of resources, poverty, addiction, and so much more. The incorporation of Native folklore was a nice touch, and fit well with the theme of the story.
Mask of the Deer Woman is both educational and impactful, and I absolutely recommend it.
🎧 I was pleased to hear #ownvoices narrator Isabella Star Lablanc narrating the audiobook!
.
.
.
.
January 9, 2025
4.25/5 Finished copy gifted by the publisher
The author aptly explored themes of missing indigenous women/girls and not getting much media attention, what she describes as “twice lost” in the story.
I had some hesitation with the FMC being in law enforcement initially, but the examination of how a system failed a people and the subsequent distrust within the native community, as well as the FMC’s own reflection of whether she’s doing more harm than good as a cop, adds nuance and depth to the book.
In the author’s notes, she mentioned her indigenous heritage while growing up with white adopted parents, inspiring her to write a story examining this feeling of “in betweenness” that the FMC experienced. I feel that aspect is very well done in the book through the character’s arc, but can’t comment on whether the descriptions of native lives on reservations are accurate depictions.
I really love the multiple layers of mysteries, even though I wish it were faster paced.
The author aptly explored themes of missing indigenous women/girls and not getting much media attention, what she describes as “twice lost” in the story.
I had some hesitation with the FMC being in law enforcement initially, but the examination of how a system failed a people and the subsequent distrust within the native community, as well as the FMC’s own reflection of whether she’s doing more harm than good as a cop, adds nuance and depth to the book.
In the author’s notes, she mentioned her indigenous heritage while growing up with white adopted parents, inspiring her to write a story examining this feeling of “in betweenness” that the FMC experienced. I feel that aspect is very well done in the book through the character’s arc, but can’t comment on whether the descriptions of native lives on reservations are accurate depictions.
I really love the multiple layers of mysteries, even though I wish it were faster paced.
March 7, 2025
Not a huge fan of our main character Starr even though she gets character development. the police brutality, while understandable from an emotional point of view, gets glossed over? killing someone without due process of law still bad?
I wish we saw some vignettes of Chenoa doing research before everything happened — maybe i missed something, but there seems to be a chunk of time that she’s just unaccounted for?? even at the end??
i don’t think this book knew whether it wanted to be a thriller/mystery or not lol
I wish we saw some vignettes of Chenoa doing research before everything happened — maybe i missed something, but there seems to be a chunk of time that she’s just unaccounted for?? even at the end??
i don’t think this book knew whether it wanted to be a thriller/mystery or not lol
October 9, 2024
I wanted to like this but I just didn’t. It felt very monotone to me. Carrie Starr annoyed me from the start which made getting into the book hard for me. Skipped around a lot. Won a copy from a goodreads giveaway.
November 2, 2025
As someone who finds injustice unbearable, this book was a rough read.
The world Dove created was riveting; Dirty politics, nasty reality of our current world, the greed under veil of progress and how they all directly have damning consequences to indigenous people and their home (the little left of it).
She invoked the hopelessness of the people, pillaging of their land and resources as well as the heartbreaking epidemic of missing Indigenous girls who disappear from reservations with little to no recognition or concern from the media, law enforcement, or the world. Woven in is also whimsical folklore passed down through generations in the community. I loved the mythology of the deer woman and how various characters experienced this phenomenon, whether she is friend or foe, you decide.
Carrie the main character, comes back to the reservation as a Marshal and she herself is half indigenous. She feels not white enough for some and a colonizer to her people. She also has endured personal tragedy that overwhelmingly controls her existence. She is only ever filled with self pity due to her grief and doesn’t have an ounce of empathy when a local girl goes missing. As she begrudgingly begins investigating, she steps foot into a dark and deep world of corruption and human depravity while she continues to deal with visions of the deer woman and what that means for her. She seems to begin to understand the true weight and importance of her job, and the reality of the cruel and unjust reality she’s working within. Even with the character arc, I found Carrie deeply unlikeable. I do not know if this was intentional or not, it seemed like she learned nothing from her own experiences and lacked grace even despite the incredible people she meets.
Overall, I really enjoyed the atmospheric realism and the multilayered narrative.
Dove’s authors note in the end was so touching and puts into perspective why she wrote this book.
5 stars for the premise. 3 stars for the mystery.
4 stars overall 🌟
The world Dove created was riveting; Dirty politics, nasty reality of our current world, the greed under veil of progress and how they all directly have damning consequences to indigenous people and their home (the little left of it).
She invoked the hopelessness of the people, pillaging of their land and resources as well as the heartbreaking epidemic of missing Indigenous girls who disappear from reservations with little to no recognition or concern from the media, law enforcement, or the world. Woven in is also whimsical folklore passed down through generations in the community. I loved the mythology of the deer woman and how various characters experienced this phenomenon, whether she is friend or foe, you decide.
Carrie the main character, comes back to the reservation as a Marshal and she herself is half indigenous. She feels not white enough for some and a colonizer to her people. She also has endured personal tragedy that overwhelmingly controls her existence. She is only ever filled with self pity due to her grief and doesn’t have an ounce of empathy when a local girl goes missing. As she begrudgingly begins investigating, she steps foot into a dark and deep world of corruption and human depravity while she continues to deal with visions of the deer woman and what that means for her. She seems to begin to understand the true weight and importance of her job, and the reality of the cruel and unjust reality she’s working within. Even with the character arc, I found Carrie deeply unlikeable. I do not know if this was intentional or not, it seemed like she learned nothing from her own experiences and lacked grace even despite the incredible people she meets.
Overall, I really enjoyed the atmospheric realism and the multilayered narrative.
Dove’s authors note in the end was so touching and puts into perspective why she wrote this book.
5 stars for the premise. 3 stars for the mystery.
4 stars overall 🌟
March 3, 2025
THE MASK OF THE DEER WOMAN
Just with the title of this novel I was looking forward to a storyline that would serve up a mystical entity. Perhaps using magical realism or indigenous folk lore. The Deer Woman was used in the novel but not to the extent she could have appeared. When the Deer Woman does appear in the story she is regal and strong but in my opinion she was underutilized.
I was looking for a novel that would bring to light the plight of young indigenous women being raped, murdered or simply disappearing never to be found.
The storyline did wrap itself around those issues so it was successful in that.
The protagonist Starr was an interesting character. She was a Bureau of Indian Affairs Marshall carrying a very heavy burden from her past. She was truly a one woman show…a lone ranger with no one at all to help her solve the murders of young women which were occurring as well as those which had occurred in the past.
The author was constantly adding extraneous sentences when attempting to explain a situation.
The writing often seemed clunky to me as she wanted to perhaps make her writing blossom it had the opposite effect. There were too many words that were not needed.
This occured especially at the end when she should have been tying the book with a bow she was adding extra ribbon and glitter. Dropping in additional information that if it was to be added should have been done earlier in the book. It made the novel seem bottom heavy to me.
■■■■■■■
SPOILER
During almost the entire book Starr drank hard liquor and had blunts always available in her backpack or in her service vehicle. She even drank and smoked in the morning.
This behavior certainly
should have been addressed in some way. Certainly you can't continue to go on driving and being a laison and officer of the law to the reservation when you are high 90% of the time.
So disappointed to have to score this a 3 and that is rounding up from a 2.75.
Just with the title of this novel I was looking forward to a storyline that would serve up a mystical entity. Perhaps using magical realism or indigenous folk lore. The Deer Woman was used in the novel but not to the extent she could have appeared. When the Deer Woman does appear in the story she is regal and strong but in my opinion she was underutilized.
I was looking for a novel that would bring to light the plight of young indigenous women being raped, murdered or simply disappearing never to be found.
The storyline did wrap itself around those issues so it was successful in that.
The protagonist Starr was an interesting character. She was a Bureau of Indian Affairs Marshall carrying a very heavy burden from her past. She was truly a one woman show…a lone ranger with no one at all to help her solve the murders of young women which were occurring as well as those which had occurred in the past.
The author was constantly adding extraneous sentences when attempting to explain a situation.
The writing often seemed clunky to me as she wanted to perhaps make her writing blossom it had the opposite effect. There were too many words that were not needed.
This occured especially at the end when she should have been tying the book with a bow she was adding extra ribbon and glitter. Dropping in additional information that if it was to be added should have been done earlier in the book. It made the novel seem bottom heavy to me.
■■■■■■■
SPOILER
During almost the entire book Starr drank hard liquor and had blunts always available in her backpack or in her service vehicle. She even drank and smoked in the morning.
This behavior certainly
should have been addressed in some way. Certainly you can't continue to go on driving and being a laison and officer of the law to the reservation when you are high 90% of the time.
So disappointed to have to score this a 3 and that is rounding up from a 2.75.
April 3, 2025
“When Indigenous women disappeared, they disappeared twice. Once in life and once in the news.” Laurie Dove offers this haunting line, which encompasses this important, emotionally charged story about MMIWG—Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls—and how disproportionately their deaths are represented in the U.S.
The writing is often lyrical, and at times, downright gorgeous. I’m all for so-called "unlikable" women, and Marshal Carrie Starr—grieving mother, struggling protector—is as complex as they come. Her daughter’s tragic death has unmoored her, and she spirals. She messes up constantly, which made her feel painfully, viscerally human. I related to her estrangement from her culture, especially having spent my life in the borderlands.
I appreciated Starr’s raw honesty, but I struggled to understand the purpose of making her so condescending. I loved Odeina and would’ve followed a whole novel with her, so I just didn’t understand why Starr disliked her. While Starr eventually comes around—acknowledging what a badass Chenoa was, among other things—it felt late.
The book’s shifting perspectives, often from outsiders, didn’t resonate with me either. I found them less compelling than the core Indigenous characters. I longed for more of Chenoa, Odeina, Junior, and even Winnie.
That said, Laurie Dove has the chops. She’s a lyrical, gutsy writer tackling urgent, complex themes. The procedural aspects all felt real and important, and I was engrossed by Dove’s ecological wisdom and descriptions of the land. This novel was so close for me—almost there. I’ll definitely be watching for her next one. Major props for writing a flawed mother wobbling between worlds and weaving powerful mythos into this story.
The writing is often lyrical, and at times, downright gorgeous. I’m all for so-called "unlikable" women, and Marshal Carrie Starr—grieving mother, struggling protector—is as complex as they come. Her daughter’s tragic death has unmoored her, and she spirals. She messes up constantly, which made her feel painfully, viscerally human. I related to her estrangement from her culture, especially having spent my life in the borderlands.
I appreciated Starr’s raw honesty, but I struggled to understand the purpose of making her so condescending. I loved Odeina and would’ve followed a whole novel with her, so I just didn’t understand why Starr disliked her. While Starr eventually comes around—acknowledging what a badass Chenoa was, among other things—it felt late.
The book’s shifting perspectives, often from outsiders, didn’t resonate with me either. I found them less compelling than the core Indigenous characters. I longed for more of Chenoa, Odeina, Junior, and even Winnie.
That said, Laurie Dove has the chops. She’s a lyrical, gutsy writer tackling urgent, complex themes. The procedural aspects all felt real and important, and I was engrossed by Dove’s ecological wisdom and descriptions of the land. This novel was so close for me—almost there. I’ll definitely be watching for her next one. Major props for writing a flawed mother wobbling between worlds and weaving powerful mythos into this story.
January 20, 2025
Suspenseful! Dark!
Carrie Starr has taken the job as a tribal Marshall with Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Saliquaw Nation near Dexter Springs as a way to transition back to the force.
She’d been a detective in Chicago until her daughter had died from an overdose.
Carrie had tracked the supplier of the drugs, the perpetrator, down and left him with bullets in his back. Nothing proved she’d been there.
Now she’s at a place her father had come from.
Her brief was to look at the women who’d gone missing. So many!
Currently she’s investigating the disappearance of Chenoa Cloud. Is she missing or somewhere on the rez?
Her investigations will lead her into strange areas of tribal spirituality, murder, embezzlement, and a host of other challenges.
So many problems, so many blank spaces, and when the hunter becomes the hunted things become very tight.
A Berkley Group ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Carrie Starr has taken the job as a tribal Marshall with Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Saliquaw Nation near Dexter Springs as a way to transition back to the force.
She’d been a detective in Chicago until her daughter had died from an overdose.
Carrie had tracked the supplier of the drugs, the perpetrator, down and left him with bullets in his back. Nothing proved she’d been there.
Now she’s at a place her father had come from.
Her brief was to look at the women who’d gone missing. So many!
Currently she’s investigating the disappearance of Chenoa Cloud. Is she missing or somewhere on the rez?
Her investigations will lead her into strange areas of tribal spirituality, murder, embezzlement, and a host of other challenges.
So many problems, so many blank spaces, and when the hunter becomes the hunted things become very tight.
A Berkley Group ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
August 12, 2024
I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this book at the beginning. I didn't like the commentary going on in Starr's head and wondered why she even took the job if she was so unhappy. But it helped me learn more about her, her background and the multiple reasons why she took the job. It is a little heart-breaking how she wasn't accepted by either culture when she was desperate to belong somewhere so she could heal. Her comment that the missing indigenous women had been lost twice; 1st from life and 2nd from the media, is unfortunately too true. Her transformation from the cynical big-city cop to an empathetic tribal Marshall was almost painful to watch and yet so satisfying in the end. The story has a good steady pace until the climax with a little surprise twist. This is an enjoyable story, and I thank Net Galley and Penguin Books for the eArc for my honest opinion.
January 20, 2025
This was a messy, relatable, emotionally raw, utterly relevant mystery/thriller debut about an Indigenous woman who is lost, and the new mixed race reserve Marshall who is tasked with finding her and who can barely hold it together after the death of her own daughter. Twisty, REAL and unputdownable, I loved this book a lot and highly recommend it for fans of authors like Marcie R Rendon and her Where they last saw her or The Sunshine Vicram series by Darynda Jones. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!
February 6, 2025
This reminded me of the newest season of True Detective.. with the Res and issues with that. The beginning was good! I was hooked, middle kind of dragged on but I was still interested.
February 16, 2025
As someone who finds injustice unbearable, this book was a rough read.
The world Dove created was riveting; Dirty politics, nasty reality of our current world, the greed under veil of progress and how they all directly have damning consequences to indigenous people and their home (the little left of it).
She invoked the hopelessness of the people, pillaging of their land and resources as well as the heartbreaking epidemic of missing Indigenous girls who disappear from reservations with little to no recognition or concern from the media, law enforcement, or the world. Woven in is also whimsical folklore passed down through generations in the community. I loved the mythology of the deer woman and how various characters experienced this phenomenon, whether she is friend or foe, you decide.
Carrie the main character, comes back to the reservation as a Marshal and she herself is half indigenous. She feels not white enough for some and a colonizer to her people. She also has endured personal tragedy that overwhelmingly controls her existence. She is only ever filled with self pity due to her grief and doesn’t have an ounce of empathy when a local girl goes missing. As she begrudgingly begins investigating, she steps foot into a dark and deep world of corruption and human depravity while she continues to deal with visions of the deer woman and what that means for her. She seems to begin to understand the true weight and importance of her job, and the reality of the cruel and unjust reality she’s working within. Even with the character arc, I found Carrie deeply unlikeable. I do not know if this was intentional or not, it seemed like she learned nothing from her own experiences and lacked grace even despite the incredible people she meets.
Overall, I really enjoyed the atmospheric realism and the multilayered narrative.
Dove’s authors note in the end was so touching and puts into perspective why she wrote this book.
5 stars for the premise. 3 stars for the mystery.
4 stars overall 🌟
The world Dove created was riveting; Dirty politics, nasty reality of our current world, the greed under veil of progress and how they all directly have damning consequences to indigenous people and their home (the little left of it).
She invoked the hopelessness of the people, pillaging of their land and resources as well as the heartbreaking epidemic of missing Indigenous girls who disappear from reservations with little to no recognition or concern from the media, law enforcement, or the world. Woven in is also whimsical folklore passed down through generations in the community. I loved the mythology of the deer woman and how various characters experienced this phenomenon, whether she is friend or foe, you decide.
Carrie the main character, comes back to the reservation as a Marshal and she herself is half indigenous. She feels not white enough for some and a colonizer to her people. She also has endured personal tragedy that overwhelmingly controls her existence. She is only ever filled with self pity due to her grief and doesn’t have an ounce of empathy when a local girl goes missing. As she begrudgingly begins investigating, she steps foot into a dark and deep world of corruption and human depravity while she continues to deal with visions of the deer woman and what that means for her. She seems to begin to understand the true weight and importance of her job, and the reality of the cruel and unjust reality she’s working within. Even with the character arc, I found Carrie deeply unlikeable. I do not know if this was intentional or not, it seemed like she learned nothing from her own experiences and lacked grace even despite the incredible people she meets.
Overall, I really enjoyed the atmospheric realism and the multilayered narrative.
Dove’s authors note in the end was so touching and puts into perspective why she wrote this book.
5 stars for the premise. 3 stars for the mystery.
4 stars overall 🌟
January 24, 2025
A riveting, slow-burn crime thriller. Detective Carrie Starr has a dark backstory and culturally split past, having been taken away from her father's reservation. Finding herself in a bind after events in Chicago, she accepts the BIA position of Marshal on the reservation with plans to dig into the cold cases of murdered Indigenous women in the area. Days after her arrival, a woman goes missing and a murder occurs, thrusting her into a dark and dangerous mystery. I loved the stories of the Deer Woman and her mythical presence and the rich culture woven into this tale. I would love to see a sequel. I highly recommend this book for fans of murder mysteries and thrillers. Thank you Berkley for the gifted book.
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