Follow the Crow

Vanished #1

by B.B. Griffith

Ben Dejooli is a Navajo cop who can't escape his past. Six years ago his little sister Ana vanished without a trace. His best friend saw what happened but he refuses to speak of what he knows, and so was banished from the Navajo tribe. That was the day the crows started following Ben.

Caroline Adams is a nurse with a special talent: she sees things others can’t see. She knows that Ben is more than he seems, and that the crows are trying to tell him something.

What the crows know could shed new light on the mystery of Ana's disappearance, or it could place Ben and Caroline at risk of vanishing just like she did.

Genres: Mystery, Fantasy, Paranormal, Fiction, Native American, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

353 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2014

About the author

B. B. Griffith writes best-selling supernatural thrillers. He is the author of the Vanished series, the Tournament series, and the Gordon Pope thrillers. He lives in Denver, CO, where he is often seen sitting on his porch staring off into the distance or wandering to and from local watering holes with his family.

See more at his digital HQ: https://www.bbgriffith.com.

If you like his books, you can sign up for his mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/SObZj. It is an entirely spam-free experience.

Reviews

[Laurel Heidtman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure I can write a review that will adequately express how much I loved this book! If I could give it ten stars, I would. It is mystical and funny and exciting--and, well, just perfect in every way. B.B. Griffith has done an amazing job of creating characters the reader can identify with and I love his method of telling the story from the first person point of view of three of them in alternating chapters. I'm also impressed with the amount of research he did, both on the Navajo ceremonies and on the medical details.

While some of the things that happen in the book are certainly sad, the overall feeling I got from it was one of peace--that there is something more than just our plane of existence. I'm so glad this is the first book in a series, because I don't want to give up the world of the book just yet. And I really don't want to give up the red crow!

[Autumn · Rating 2 out of 5]

What kind of white boy sh** is this???

What the what????

I have so many words for this book... First, WTF business do you have setting a book on a Res and playing with "navajo magic" without doing any damned research. This is fundamentally and viscerally insulting to a very real people. Second, though the characters as individuals were decently developed, the interactions were just weird. No relationships seemed genuine or really realistic in any way. Maybe if the timeline had been stretched out a little more to give them some development time??? What happened was just a middle school dance gone awry. Then the plot...gods... it feels like it was trying to make any kind of sense but then just gave up and threw it into...ignore that this makes no sense and is not fleshed out cause...navajo... Final impression is slight nausea, confusion, and general disgust.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing! If you are a fan of mysteries with a supernatural twist, this book is for you!

Things I liked:
- Griffith's writing style is amazing!
- The book draws you in immediately.
- Love all the New Mexico references.
- Love the crow supernatural element.

Things I didn't like:
- So sad what happened to Ben!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow. This was good. Really, really good. I have to say that the free books you can get on Amazon are often a mixed bag, but this one was brilliant. The story revolves around Navajo beliefs, a missing girl and the separation between the plain of the living and the plain of the dead. Ben Dejooli is a policeman on the Reservation who works to try and forget his sister who went missing in strange circumstances six years before. Caroline is an oncology nurse working at Albuquerque General Hospital. When Ben is brought in after passing out, she starts to suspect something bad, which is made more convincing by her strange but subtle ability to see people's feelings in 'colours'. She gets the help of Dr Owen Bennett to convince Ben to go for a scan, but the results are just one part of the deepening drama which provides an explanation of what happened to Ana, and why Ben is being followed by crows.

The writing was fabulous, and the fact that it was written in the first person, present tense gave the story both an intimacy and an immediacy which really worked. This choice doesn't always work out, but in this book it is perfect. The chapters jump between the points of view of the three characters, giving you a strong sense of each of their personalities, their own feelings and their struggle to understand what is going on. I suspect that often the first book in a series is given free in the hope that you will go online and buy the second one. Well, it worked. I have done exactly that, and have even gone to look for the author's other books. I would highly recommend this book.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

very unusual perspective

This is kind of a cross between a mystery and fantasy, maybe magical realism is the best fit. It's not Tony Hillerman (I also like his work a lot), as the two writers' stories emerge from different directions. Hillerman's work is sourced in the Navajo nation, its people and experiences, while Griffith's comes to the res from the outside. In Hillerman's books you get some small sense of what it is to be Navajo, perhaps an illusion of familiarity, while in Griffith's you're looking in longingly, but know you'll always be an outsider. Both writers make you appreciate the culture, but offer quite different perspectives on it. 'Follow the Crow' was well-written and -plotted, I really cared about all three main characters, and the book's ending made me really want to find out what happens next for them in Griffith's universe.

[Susan Danison]

This book was advertised as "if you like Tony Hillerman" and I can guarantee you: other than being set in New Mexico and a Navajo cop --- this is as far away from a Tony Hillerman novel that you could get. It took everything I had to even finish this book and now I feel like I need a hot shower.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been on my “want-to-read list for awhile, sparked by a “for readers who like Tony Hillerman. I couldn’t find it until I tried kindle/kindle limited. It wasn’t at all like Tony Hillerman, given the dive into supernatural. It was entertaining enough that I may try the rest of the series

[✰♥✰ ↠Dominique↞ ✰♥✰ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't say i really enjoyed this story.

It was different from what i usually read though and i did find the history of the Navajo's interesting. I do have to add that it really pissed me off that even in this beautiful people, you can find racism. The ones that follow the old ways judge the more modern generation for not being 'true' Navajo's and vice versa. Just another example of humankind's idiocy...

I'm not sure i can quite put my finger on what went wrong for me in this story... i guess i'd say a little bit of everything?

I thought this story was about a missing girl. Never in a million years did i think this would turn into a paranormal story. And the ending fight kind of gave me Matrix vibes... which was just... odd...

I was eager to finish it and won't be revisiting these characters i'm sorry to say.

[Doseofbella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Follow The Crow
By: B.B. Griffith
Pages. 341 Genre: mystery/thriller Griffith Publishing 2014
Reviewed by: tk
Copy Courtesy of: Goodreads First Reads


A dead body in Sanchos Bar, a slew of black crows, and ancient beliefs and customs of the Navajo adds up to a mind blowing mystery.

Ben Dejooli has the responsibility to uphold the law in Navajo Nation Chaco rez. His partner, Danny Ninepoint is a quiet man with many secrets. Ben is battling headaches while investigating the apparent suicide, possible murder of an elderly man found in Sancos Bars back room. He will meet Dr. Owen Bennett, and nurse Caroline Adams who help him come to terms with his illness. FBI agents are searching for Bens once best friend for stealing drugs for several hospitals. Bens partner has his own private agenda that is the opposite of upholding the laws of the community. It all comes back to " The Arroyo". The place where Joseph Flatwood, Bens best friend grew up.

A place of secrets, magic, customs, and evil that will have you spell bound until the final page is read. It an amazing piece. The pages will turn on their own while you wander in the town of Chaco. The characters are real, and unforgettable. A story will leave you begging for more...
Highly recommended. Enjoy! 5/5

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Follow the Crow tells the story of Ben Dejooli, a Navaho Nation Police Officer, nurse Caroline Adams and Dr. Owen Bennett. Dejooli is dealing with the years old disappearance of his younger sister. He is battling mystical forces and medical issues. Caroline and Owen work in an Albuquerque hospital and the three paths entwine in a riveting tale. Ben fights crime on the reservation and has headaches. Caroline helps heal people and sees auras. Owen is in love.

Set primarily on the Navaho Nation Reservation, Follow the Crow is a supernatural thriller. It relates many aspects of native culture in what seems to be a respectful way. It is mystical at time, has some romance and plenty of action. There are good guys, bad guys and some you just have to wait to figure out.

Follow the Crow is a very engaging novel. The writing is crisp. The characters come alive. The plot flows well and kept me entertained throughout. As the first in a series, it introduced me to characters I want to follow and a storyline that has many possible branches. I am interested to see where the story lead in the following installments.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting idea, and I love Navajo stories; this was rolling along fine until about a third of the way in, then it got muddy by becoming all about the supernatural without any explanations or background for the reader. One example: the narrator says crows can symbolize many things, but then never shows or tells us which meanings we are going to see in this book…Death is coming, sure, but what else? Stephen King does a better job with crows, just sayin’.
Another issue is that the romance doesn’t work at all.
Third issue, why are the white people the heroes?!

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. The kind of book that I have to stop myself from reading too fast because I want to devour the plot line in one sitting. I'd recommend to anyone who wants to escape into an other-wordly experience. Very well written.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different and interesting. A bit of history, folklore, and paranormal all tied into one easy, if slightly dark, read.

It was 5 stars for me right up until the bird started talking like a "surfer dude." . Where did that come from?

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kindle Unlimited
First of a trio by Griffith, Published under the title of The Vanished Series, Follow the Crow is something I have wanted to read for over a year. And it was worth the wait - this is an excellent story, told very well, a family story taking place in northwestern New Mexico, on the Chaco Flats, Farmington, Gallup, Albuquerque, and the small village of Chaco located on the Navajo Reservation. This is a true picture of life on the Navajo reservation, both spiritually and in reality. Life there is hard, water is scarce, and running water and electricity hookup is not often even available in many homes. Imagine that. https://www.navajowaterproject.org/give

There are several memorable characters who carry over in the series. Carolyn Adams is an oncology nurse at the main hospital in Alberquerque, working on the Intensive Care Unit for cancer patients, which is separate from the main ICU. Dr. Owen Bennet also works with cancer patients at the Alberquerque hospital. Both also donate time to the Chaco Health Center on the reservation. The other constant throughout the series is The Walker. The Walker is a changing personality, an escort, one you will learn to appreciate as things roll along. And, of course, the crows.

'Follow the Crow' involves the Navajo Dejooli family. Ana was Ben's little sister, born with heart issues, a youngster who disappeared several years ago from the Albuquerque hospital ICU while a family friend, Ben's best friend, was sitting with her during their extensive death watch. No one ever found out what happened to her body. Ana was a fey child, always happy, a girl who lived in her imagination and was loved by everyone who knew her. Ben has never gotten past the fact that they were not able to say goodbye to Ana as custom dictated. There is a Navajo ritual that separates the living from the dead that helps to accept the loss of a loved one. They were denied that closure, and it still hurts.

Ben lives in the family home with his grandmother and his father. His mother left them after Ana disappeared, herself disappearing into the wide world. Reservation housing is for the most part simple. Several generations of the Dejooli family have resided there, and it is small but comfortable and truly 'home' to them all.

And now Ben, a Navajo policeman in his thirties, gets knocked unconscious on the job. Transported to Albuquerque hospital before he regains consciousness, he can't wait to escape and hastily promises his nurse, Carolyn Adams, that he will follow up with an MRI as she feels there is an underlying problem. He shouldn't have passed out, certainly not for as long as he was out. Only ongoing harassment from Carolyn and Dr. Owen Bennet gets him in to have the scans done.

And he has brain tumors that are cancerous, the disease is too involved for surgery to be an option. He can't stand the idea of the hospital ICU after months of sitting with his sister there, so he eventually talks Dr. Bennet into ordering his chemotherapy administered at his home on the reservation. And Carolyn, who volunteers there, will have to administer it. Though the hospital has offered it in the past, she has never been involved in administering it in anything but the hospital setting. They will have to work it out together. They will work out a lot of things, together.

If you find this story interesting, Google Chaco Canyon, which is south of Chaco Flats. It is a very rare Anasazi Solar and Lunar Observatory that became a gathering place for tribes as far away as southern Mexico and California. Over 300 ruins are preserved. It is a treasure of history right in our backyard.

Reviewed on December 12, 2021, at Goodreads, AmazonSmile, Barnes & Noble, and BookBub. Not available for review at Kobo or Goodreads.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

This sat on my nook for a very long time which probably should've told me something but in the interest of clearing my unread ebooks I gave it a shot but I'm sad to say I'm 0 for 3 on books too boring to finish today. Now it's possible that I was just in a weird mood today with not enough patience but I gave this five chapters to work some magic and although a lot of weird stuff had happened by that point none of it was really coherent or interesting enough to make me want to keep reading. The narrative was very strange, almost a breaking the fourth wall type of thing. I at least cleared three books off my nook today but any time I go 0 for 3 I console myself by rereading something I know I'll enjoy.

[Harry Allagree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once I started, I couldn't put this book down. Follow the Crow is the first in The Vanished Series, by B. B. Griffith. He's written over a dozen other works. Most of the story takes place on a Navajo reservation in the Albuquerque, NM. The story, especially toward the end, involves what is described as "paranormal suspense". In general, I don't understand, nor am much drawn toward this genre of writing, but I wasn't totally put off by Griffith's handling of it. He certainly raises a lot of issues about cultures & creatures other than humans, as well as issues surrounding the experience of dying the afterlife, et.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Free on kindle unlimited

I enjoyed this- I’m not sure if I have ever read a book with Navajo themes.

[gloria rohner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book

I like native stories. This book keeps you going till the end,and it's a different ending than what you would think.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes! my new favorite series!!! so good

[Marsha Hubbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Follow the Crow” is the first in B.B. Griffith’s “Vanished” series. The fact this is a Navajo mystery caught my immediate interest. Ben Dejooli is a Navajo cop who has never given up finding what happened to his little sister Ana six years ago. Quite ill, she simply vanished without a trace from her hospital room while Ben’s best friend Joey Flatwood was keeping watch. Caroline Adams is a nurse with a special talent, who senses the crows that keep following Ben are trying to tell him something, while Dr. Owen Bennet, a man of science not faith, struggles to accept the Navajo mysticism they are dealing with. And here the haunting mystery builds.

I found this an intriguing premise and was hooked for most of the book. I did wonder why Mr. Griffith chose to name two of his primary characters Ben and Bennet. And I was unprepared for the direction the book took at the end. Up until that point I was completely hooked. I appreciate the research he did on the Navajos and the depth of characters he created, but am going to sit with the ending a bit before moving on to the sequel.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not exactly sure what to say about this strange book except that the mystery/paranormal plot kept the virtual pages turning. I feel a little shell-shocked, frankly, and I think I need to process a bit before moving on to the next installment, but I will most definitely keep reading because I’m interested in where the author takes it from here, and I’d like to understand more of the mystical elements.

[Jane Pye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Native American lore

This is an interesting book and gives a great deal of information about the lives of Navaho people after the settlers took away everything they were. It shames me to think my ancestors were a part of the treatment of these gentle people. Their ways are not wrong a d perhaps have more to live by than our traditions. I hope to read more of Griffith’sbodkin as well as Tony hillerman’s books.

[Cate Ness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story!

I love paranormal thrillers, and this book has all the elements of a story I enjoy: mystery, murder, surprises you don't see coming, super natural elements, and love. I also appreciate when author does their homework, and the medical elements of this story seem very accurate. Looking forward to reading the rest of this series, and others by this author.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing story about Navajo life on the reservation and medical personnel working there. It includes dealing with death and is clearly paranormal yet has solid roots in reality. The concise, clear writing pulled me in with the alternating persons looking me in the eye and telling me how it went down. Excellent book! It is currently free on Amazon.

[Jerry L Stricklland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different,interesting and a very good read. I had never read B. B. Griffith and took a chance and I am happy I did.

I would recommend this book to. People with a firm grip on life but like to be provoked on occasion.

[Regis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this book ten stars if I could! A very human tale, with a bit of a supernatural bend. I was absolutely enthralled from start to finish. So glad I'll be able to continue on this amazing journey, with these awesome characters!

[Cranky Commentary (Melinda) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, but just a little too “X-Filey” for me.

I’ll not be reading the rest of the trilogy for that reason. It’s simply personal taste.

I would recommend this to fans of the television show Supernatural, or readers who enjoyed Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas series.

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A paranormal murder mystery with an engaging, conversational tone that drew me in.

[Lady Heather]

Free Kindle as of February 19, 2016
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K...

[Rosa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I must be the only one but I hated this book.