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Sadie Walela #3
Sinking Suspicions
Suspicions run high when murder mixes with identity theft in the latest installment of the popular Sadie Walela mystery series set in Cherokee Country. No sooner does Sadie embark on an unexpected business trip to the beautiful island of Maui, when her long-time neighbor, Buck Skinner, a full-blood Cherokee and World War II veteran, goes missing and becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a petty identity thief.
Iconic lawman Lance Smith joins a community-wide search, but Buck is nowhere to be found. As evidence mounts against her old friend, Sadie rushes to return home to help—only to be delayed by an island-wide earthquake and her own sinking suspicions.
A diverse cast of characters weave together a breathless story of murder, thievery, and the toll of war on the human spirit. In her effort to restore balance to her neighbor’s life, Sadie not only uncovers the truth, but unravels much more than a murder.
Iconic lawman Lance Smith joins a community-wide search, but Buck is nowhere to be found. As evidence mounts against her old friend, Sadie rushes to return home to help—only to be delayed by an island-wide earthquake and her own sinking suspicions.
A diverse cast of characters weave together a breathless story of murder, thievery, and the toll of war on the human spirit. In her effort to restore balance to her neighbor’s life, Sadie not only uncovers the truth, but unravels much more than a murder.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
7 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Sara Sue Hoklotubbe
6 books41 followersSara Sue Hoklotubbe is the author of the Sadie Walela Mystery Series and winner of the New Mexico/Arizona Book Award for Mystery/Suspense, winner of the WILLA Literary Award by Women Writing the West, and winner of Mystery of the Year by Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. She was also a finalist for the ForeWord Book of the Year Award and the Oklahoma Book Award.
She may be reached through her website at www.hoklotubbe.com
She may be reached through her website at www.hoklotubbe.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 5, 2023
Oh man this made me want to go back to Hawai'i!
This time around Sadie is trying her hand at becoming a travel agent. I've just started the 4th book but so far it's not centered around her job. I'm not a huge fan of how she's constantly changing jobs. But that's not a big blow to the story.
It gets into the heavy territory of PTSD but, I feel, does it contentiously. Buck is a flawed but not pitied character. And his story highlights how native land is STILL being stolen from them.
There was the usual smattering of characters with seemingly unrelated plots. Most of which unsurprisingly connect in the end. But there's always a least one that doesn't. And none of the various plots seem forced. It all seems natural. The characters seem believable. Even the one-dimensional ones, like Buck's niece.
Now for some spoilery-stuff.
This time around Sadie is trying her hand at becoming a travel agent. I've just started the 4th book but so far it's not centered around her job. I'm not a huge fan of how she's constantly changing jobs. But that's not a big blow to the story.
It gets into the heavy territory of PTSD but, I feel, does it contentiously. Buck is a flawed but not pitied character. And his story highlights how native land is STILL being stolen from them.
There was the usual smattering of characters with seemingly unrelated plots. Most of which unsurprisingly connect in the end. But there's always a least one that doesn't. And none of the various plots seem forced. It all seems natural. The characters seem believable. Even the one-dimensional ones, like Buck's niece.
Now for some spoilery-stuff.
October 10, 2019
Sara Sue Hoklotubbe’s third Sadie Walela mystery, Sinking Suspicions
finds Sadie in Hawai’i, training to run Paradise Travel agency, but not fully enjoying the beauty, because Lance isn’t with her — stubborn man! Even worse, he calls with news that her neighbor Buck is missing. Buck, like Lance, is a “strong Cherokee man” who wouldn’t be lost, but what if he’s hurt somewhere in the fierce Oklahoma heat and they don’t find him in time?
Plans to return early are thwarted by an earthquake, grounded flights and Sadie’s broken phone. Sadie uses the time to experience the Aloha spirit of Hawai’i, visiting Pua’s mother and learning about the history of WWII on the islands.
The plot is compelling, and the themes and lessons are memorable.
“‘Hawai’i ’78’ sung by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, words about the Hawaiian experience echoed the struggles of all Native people”
“The bank was going to take Jelly’s place, and they had his money all the time. They wouldn’t listen to him . . . That’s not right.”
Greed and violence vs. simple living, close to the land, in harmony, with horses and dogs, sharing vegetables from garden, sharing brownies and pastries, ready to help and support friends, and laughing off the insults of the unknowing.
I love seeing all the raveled ends get woven together, justice done, heroes safe . . . and I love the helpful cadres of good people who help to right things, and there was one major connection that I fervently hoped for. <3
finds Sadie in Hawai’i, training to run Paradise Travel agency, but not fully enjoying the beauty, because Lance isn’t with her — stubborn man! Even worse, he calls with news that her neighbor Buck is missing. Buck, like Lance, is a “strong Cherokee man” who wouldn’t be lost, but what if he’s hurt somewhere in the fierce Oklahoma heat and they don’t find him in time?
Plans to return early are thwarted by an earthquake, grounded flights and Sadie’s broken phone. Sadie uses the time to experience the Aloha spirit of Hawai’i, visiting Pua’s mother and learning about the history of WWII on the islands.
The plot is compelling, and the themes and lessons are memorable.
“‘Hawai’i ’78’ sung by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, words about the Hawaiian experience echoed the struggles of all Native people”
“The bank was going to take Jelly’s place, and they had his money all the time. They wouldn’t listen to him . . . That’s not right.”
Greed and violence vs. simple living, close to the land, in harmony, with horses and dogs, sharing vegetables from garden, sharing brownies and pastries, ready to help and support friends, and laughing off the insults of the unknowing.
I love seeing all the raveled ends get woven together, justice done, heroes safe . . . and I love the helpful cadres of good people who help to right things, and there was one major connection that I fervently hoped for. <3
January 9, 2019
Very good. Not one of my absolute favorites - there are few of those - but I will definitely look for more by her. This was well written, clear, and with a nice touch even in describing fairly minor details, such as how someone enters a room. The plot was complex and many-faceted, but it all made sense in the end. Good descriptions, as well.
Read
March 17, 2021I liked reading about these Eastern OK places that I remember from my growing up years.
October 5, 2021
Enjoyed
December 18, 2022
The best book so far in this series. Too bad it hasn’t reached mainstream readers.
Lovely story for sure.
Lovely story for sure.
Read
January 29, 2025The series is improving, the characters becoming more fully fleshed. Plotting remains a bit too convoluted for my taste, but I will continue to read.
March 3, 2015
It's always a delight to discover a new cozy mystery series as engaging as Hoklotubbe's. This novel, her third in the Sadie Walela Mystery series, was my first meeting with this charming group of diverse characters: native born Oklahoman Cherokees and Hawaiians living on Maui. Along with these cultures, the author intersperses some World War II history.
The attractive book cover gives the reader an introduction to the place we'll find inside: rugged, sparse country with weathered buildings and an old pick-up truck, as well as colors and border decorations that hint at Native American ethnicity. We open the book to meet Sadie Walela, a young blue-eyed, half-blood contemporary American Cherokee woman who lives in a small Oklahoma town richly filled with Cherokee culture, folklore, and many other Cherokee people.
We learn that the previous year Sadie had opened a community restaurant, but is now seeking a different career; she has entered an apprenticeship to explore becoming a travel agent. Soon we travel with her on her first trip—to Maui, a warm, lovely environment in sharp contrast to Oklahoma.
Sadie leaves her horse, dog, and home in the good care of the town's Cherokee police chief, Lance. Sadie and Lance are committed but struggling at the moment with their couple-hood. Soon after she leaves, Sadie's neighbor, a retired Cherokee war veteran named Buck—who brought home an undiagnosed condition of PTSD from the war—disappears and Lance hurriedly begins to investigate. Frustrated by sparse clues, Lance becomes even more disturbed when a hurricane hits Maui and cuts off all communication with Sadie, whom he believes can help him with the investigation. Sadie, meanwhile, becomes engaged in a long-ago wartime mystery while in Maui.
The mysteries in each locale are well woven as these thoroughly enjoyable characters work away at each respective puzzle and uncover long buried threads.
Having read Sinking Suspicions, I now look forward to stepping back to read the first two novels. These were characters that I personally liked, looked forward to spending time with, and stretched me into interesting places far beyond my quiet country solitude. For me, Sinking Suspicions was a five star read.
by Mary Jo Doig
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
The attractive book cover gives the reader an introduction to the place we'll find inside: rugged, sparse country with weathered buildings and an old pick-up truck, as well as colors and border decorations that hint at Native American ethnicity. We open the book to meet Sadie Walela, a young blue-eyed, half-blood contemporary American Cherokee woman who lives in a small Oklahoma town richly filled with Cherokee culture, folklore, and many other Cherokee people.
We learn that the previous year Sadie had opened a community restaurant, but is now seeking a different career; she has entered an apprenticeship to explore becoming a travel agent. Soon we travel with her on her first trip—to Maui, a warm, lovely environment in sharp contrast to Oklahoma.
Sadie leaves her horse, dog, and home in the good care of the town's Cherokee police chief, Lance. Sadie and Lance are committed but struggling at the moment with their couple-hood. Soon after she leaves, Sadie's neighbor, a retired Cherokee war veteran named Buck—who brought home an undiagnosed condition of PTSD from the war—disappears and Lance hurriedly begins to investigate. Frustrated by sparse clues, Lance becomes even more disturbed when a hurricane hits Maui and cuts off all communication with Sadie, whom he believes can help him with the investigation. Sadie, meanwhile, becomes engaged in a long-ago wartime mystery while in Maui.
The mysteries in each locale are well woven as these thoroughly enjoyable characters work away at each respective puzzle and uncover long buried threads.
Having read Sinking Suspicions, I now look forward to stepping back to read the first two novels. These were characters that I personally liked, looked forward to spending time with, and stretched me into interesting places far beyond my quiet country solitude. For me, Sinking Suspicions was a five star read.
by Mary Jo Doig
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
August 14, 2016
I received "Sinking Suspicions" (the third book within the award-winning Sadie Walela Mystery Series) as a gift, and although I don't usually read in this genre I found the book satisfying. I'm impressed with the diverse cast of characters placed within the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma where the author grew up. Hoklotubbe draws on her own life experience to give the books in her series a special richness. This is a light read appropriate for a wide audience of readers, including young readers, that combines glimpses of history and contemporary culture within an authentic modern-day Native American setting.
October 28, 2014
At the 2014 National Book Festival, I was blessed to be Sara Sue Hoklotubbe's escort. She is Cherokee and, along with her Choctaw husband, demonstrated the kind of quiet pride I have always admired in our Native American citizens. The book is a very good read with lots of insights into living on or near a Cherokee reservation.
Thank you, Sara Sue, for allowing me to share your special day. I will never forget seeing you seated between US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Nina Khruscheva, Nikita Khruschev's great-granddaughter. Three great nations represented by three great women.
Thank you, Sara Sue, for allowing me to share your special day. I will never forget seeing you seated between US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Nina Khruscheva, Nikita Khruschev's great-granddaughter. Three great nations represented by three great women.
May 6, 2015
This was an OK mystery starring Sadie Walela, a Native American who just finished owning a cafe and is now switching to being a travel agent. She takes a working vacation to Hawaii just as her ancient neighbor Buck Skinner disappears. Apparently, he's been the victim of identity theft, resulting in a foreclosure on his beloved land. Hoklotubbe investigates the seamy side of life with confidence artists, illegal immigration, and eventually murder. Meanwhile Sadie is making friends with some native Hawaiians and trying to avoid earthquakes. While the plot was fine, it was hard for me to get into the characters.
October 17, 2014
Sadie's plan to become a travel agent takes her to Hawai'i just when her neighbor, World War II Marine Buck Skinner, disappears. Sadie's close friend Lance Smith, police chief in a neighboring jurisdiction, is drawn into the search for Buck when he checks on Sadie's ranch. Buck has been the victim of an identity theft, but is also under suspicion when a man using his name is found dead. An earthquake in Hawai'i prevents Sadie and Lance from sharing news, leading to tension when Sadie returns to Oklahoma.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews