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Raven's Legacy (A Jonah St. Clair Mystery): An Alaska Mystery of Stolen Relics, Dark Legends, and Murder
Tlingit artifacts. A wounded bear. And a skeleton with a secret.Irreplaceable Tlingit artifacts, including a 15’x 8’ spruce Raven House screen, are stolen from a native village in Alaska in 1980. Their only police officer, Jonah St. Clair, investigates the theft and the disappearance of a local man who may have been involved. At the same time there’s a wounded grizzly on the loose and an archeologist unearths the bones of a slave, a relic the villagers prefer to leave buried.
When one of the thieves absconds with most of the artifacts as well as the $500,000 paid for them, the others are determined to get both the artifacts and the money back. They threaten and assault several locals they suspect are connected to the betrayal. Can Jonah outwit the thieves before violence escalates? Can he recover the lost artifacts before they vanish forever?
In Tlingit legend, Raven was the cunning trickster whose mischief often led to trouble and disastrous shortcuts. Despite his flaws, he remained the symbol of hope, forgiveness, and sacrifice. But in this story, Raven's legacy is shrouded in betrayal, revenge, and death.
When one of the thieves absconds with most of the artifacts as well as the $500,000 paid for them, the others are determined to get both the artifacts and the money back. They threaten and assault several locals they suspect are connected to the betrayal. Can Jonah outwit the thieves before violence escalates? Can he recover the lost artifacts before they vanish forever?
In Tlingit legend, Raven was the cunning trickster whose mischief often led to trouble and disastrous shortcuts. Despite his flaws, he remained the symbol of hope, forgiveness, and sacrifice. But in this story, Raven's legacy is shrouded in betrayal, revenge, and death.
327 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 14, 2025
165 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte Stuart
20 books426 followersCharlotte Stuart PhD is an award-winning mystery writer who got her start in academia, left a tenured faculty position to go commercial fishing in Alaska, spent a frustrating year as a political speech writer, and enjoyed time as a management consultant and as a VP of HR and Training.
Her current passion is for writing character driven mysteries with twisty plots. She has published twelve mysteries since 2019, including a legal thriller co-authored with writer husband Don Stuart.
Her discount Detective Mysteries received a 1st Place Series Award in the Chanticleer International Mystery & Mayhem competition. Other awards include a Global Ebook Gold, a Reader Views Silver, a Global Book Award Bronze, and making finals in Foreword Indies, Killer Nashville's Silver Falchion and the Eric Hoffer Awards.
She lives and writes on Vashon Island, is the past president of the Puget Sound Sisters in Crime and a member of the Mystery Writers of America.
Her current passion is for writing character driven mysteries with twisty plots. She has published twelve mysteries since 2019, including a legal thriller co-authored with writer husband Don Stuart.
Her discount Detective Mysteries received a 1st Place Series Award in the Chanticleer International Mystery & Mayhem competition. Other awards include a Global Ebook Gold, a Reader Views Silver, a Global Book Award Bronze, and making finals in Foreword Indies, Killer Nashville's Silver Falchion and the Eric Hoffer Awards.
She lives and writes on Vashon Island, is the past president of the Puget Sound Sisters in Crime and a member of the Mystery Writers of America.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 5, 2025
First and foremost, a large thank you to Reedsy Discovery and Charlotte Stuart for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
A fan of Charlotte Stuart and her work, I wanted to explore some of her more serious work. This is surely one of her more intense thrillers, set in the community of Koloshan, Alaska. The Tlingit community relies on Jonah St. Clair as their sole police officer, where things can sometimes become a tad tense. In the second thriller/police procedural with the same setting and characters, Stuart keeps the reader engaged with this dark and twisted story.
Jonah St. Clair grew up in the small community of Koloshan, Alaska, but no one recognised him from his days before being in uniform. His return to this small native village, with access only by boat, has Jonah remembering the Tlingit traditions while he serves as the sole police presence for the town. It's 1980 and he wants nothing more than to find some peace, after working for the LAPD and spending time on the battlefields of Vietnam.
When Jonah is made aware that the valuable Raven House screen and other Tlingit artifacts have been stolen from the local gallery, he begins an investigation in hopes of findinf the culprit swiftly. While no one has seen anything, one man is missing and was being quite coy about it all beforehand. Every lead that Jonah uncovers is soon stymied by a sense of fear and tight-lipped refusal to assist. Locals receive calls and threats, but Jonah cannot nail anything down for certain.
News of a wounded bear just outside town makes its way to Jonah, injured when some local kids were out passing the time with weapons. This could add to the tension or prove a worrisome distraction, though Jonah has little time for either. After a lead sends Jonah to visit a member of the Koloshan community, the apparent thief also goes missing with a significant amount of money from the heist. Jonah realises that nothing is as it seems and that this is one investigation that could subsume him sooner than later.
Jonah enlists some outside police help as he enters into a game of cat and mouse with powerful outsiders. There is much to do and little time to wait, as the bodies continue to pile up, with greed and deception the name of the game. It would appear that this was all part of a calculated plan, with Koloshan in the crosshairs. Charlotte Stuart delivers a gripping story that adds depth and intrigue to an idea that seems simple from the outset.
I enjoy when a story transports me from my comfort zone, which Charlotte Stuart has done once more. Her lighter mysteries hooked me in the past and this was a great change of pace. The narrative sets things in motion with a strong foundation, complemented by great settings and cultural revelations. The mysterious nature of the piece is heightened with each passing chapter. The characters offer up a great sense of rural community and banter well, while the reader is able to connect with Jonah St. Clair with ease. Plot points propel things forward while adding significant surprise to the story, which keeps things from being too predictable. While the book is a standalone, it is complemented by reading the first book in which Jonah St. Clair appears and has me eager to see where Charlotte Stuart will take things next.
Kudos, Madam Stuart, for another great read!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at: http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A fan of Charlotte Stuart and her work, I wanted to explore some of her more serious work. This is surely one of her more intense thrillers, set in the community of Koloshan, Alaska. The Tlingit community relies on Jonah St. Clair as their sole police officer, where things can sometimes become a tad tense. In the second thriller/police procedural with the same setting and characters, Stuart keeps the reader engaged with this dark and twisted story.
Jonah St. Clair grew up in the small community of Koloshan, Alaska, but no one recognised him from his days before being in uniform. His return to this small native village, with access only by boat, has Jonah remembering the Tlingit traditions while he serves as the sole police presence for the town. It's 1980 and he wants nothing more than to find some peace, after working for the LAPD and spending time on the battlefields of Vietnam.
When Jonah is made aware that the valuable Raven House screen and other Tlingit artifacts have been stolen from the local gallery, he begins an investigation in hopes of findinf the culprit swiftly. While no one has seen anything, one man is missing and was being quite coy about it all beforehand. Every lead that Jonah uncovers is soon stymied by a sense of fear and tight-lipped refusal to assist. Locals receive calls and threats, but Jonah cannot nail anything down for certain.
News of a wounded bear just outside town makes its way to Jonah, injured when some local kids were out passing the time with weapons. This could add to the tension or prove a worrisome distraction, though Jonah has little time for either. After a lead sends Jonah to visit a member of the Koloshan community, the apparent thief also goes missing with a significant amount of money from the heist. Jonah realises that nothing is as it seems and that this is one investigation that could subsume him sooner than later.
Jonah enlists some outside police help as he enters into a game of cat and mouse with powerful outsiders. There is much to do and little time to wait, as the bodies continue to pile up, with greed and deception the name of the game. It would appear that this was all part of a calculated plan, with Koloshan in the crosshairs. Charlotte Stuart delivers a gripping story that adds depth and intrigue to an idea that seems simple from the outset.
I enjoy when a story transports me from my comfort zone, which Charlotte Stuart has done once more. Her lighter mysteries hooked me in the past and this was a great change of pace. The narrative sets things in motion with a strong foundation, complemented by great settings and cultural revelations. The mysterious nature of the piece is heightened with each passing chapter. The characters offer up a great sense of rural community and banter well, while the reader is able to connect with Jonah St. Clair with ease. Plot points propel things forward while adding significant surprise to the story, which keeps things from being too predictable. While the book is a standalone, it is complemented by reading the first book in which Jonah St. Clair appears and has me eager to see where Charlotte Stuart will take things next.
Kudos, Madam Stuart, for another great read!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at: http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
April 14, 2025
Raven’s Legacy is an atmospheric mystery set in the remote Alaskan village of Koloshan in 1980. At the center is Jonah St. Clair, a war veteran and former LAPD officer turned village cop, who’s suddenly tasked with investigating the shocking theft of sacred Tlingit artifacts from the local Native Arts Center. The heart of the mystery is the missing Raven House screen—a symbol of cultural pride and community history—setting off a tense clash between tradition, greed, and the ghosts of the past. As Jonah digs deeper, he uncovers more than just clues; he finds tangled loyalties, unresolved grief, and a reckoning with cultural identity that makes this story far more than your average whodunit.
The opening prologue, where a young Jonah first lays eyes on the Raven House screen, is quietly haunting. That scene stayed with me, not because of flashy writing but because of the reverence and weight Stuart gives to culture and memory. There’s this moment where elders stand around naming each missing artifact in Tlingit—“Káa yooka.όot' x'όow,” “Naaxein,”—like they’re reading names off a memorial. It’s a grief not just for stolen objects, but for a fading culture being ripped away in broad daylight.
Stuart’s writing is sharp but not showy. It flows easy, like a local telling a story over coffee—personal, thoughtful, no wasted words. I loved how she grounded everything in real place and texture. Koloshan doesn’t feel like a backdrop—it’s a character. The muddy roads, the rusting buildings, the church steeples clashing with old totems. It all feels lived-in and complicated. Stuart also gets small-town politics and family dynamics just right—the way gossip travels faster than police radios, and how history never stays buried. Especially when we get to the elder characters like Harold and Ray, each with their own ideas about what the artifacts “should” mean. It’s not just mystery—it’s a debate about identity, and who gets to decide what legacy survives.
The pacing drags a bit midway through Jonah’s hunt for leads, especially during the logistics-heavy stretch in Juneau. But even then, there’s always an emotional undercurrent. She writes with empathy. There’s tension, yeah, but also a real sense of stakes for these quiet, ordinary people caught in something bigger than them. Jonah himself is a standout. He’s tough, sure, but there’s a vulnerability there—he feels things deeply, and that gives the story its soul.
Raven’s Legacy is a thoughtful, rich, and emotional mystery with a lot of heart. If you’re looking for a mystery with real depth, layered characters, and a powerful sense of place, you’ll get a lot out of this one. I'd especially recommend it to fans of Dana Stabenow or those who love stories that blend culture, community, and quiet suspense.
The opening prologue, where a young Jonah first lays eyes on the Raven House screen, is quietly haunting. That scene stayed with me, not because of flashy writing but because of the reverence and weight Stuart gives to culture and memory. There’s this moment where elders stand around naming each missing artifact in Tlingit—“Káa yooka.όot' x'όow,” “Naaxein,”—like they’re reading names off a memorial. It’s a grief not just for stolen objects, but for a fading culture being ripped away in broad daylight.
Stuart’s writing is sharp but not showy. It flows easy, like a local telling a story over coffee—personal, thoughtful, no wasted words. I loved how she grounded everything in real place and texture. Koloshan doesn’t feel like a backdrop—it’s a character. The muddy roads, the rusting buildings, the church steeples clashing with old totems. It all feels lived-in and complicated. Stuart also gets small-town politics and family dynamics just right—the way gossip travels faster than police radios, and how history never stays buried. Especially when we get to the elder characters like Harold and Ray, each with their own ideas about what the artifacts “should” mean. It’s not just mystery—it’s a debate about identity, and who gets to decide what legacy survives.
The pacing drags a bit midway through Jonah’s hunt for leads, especially during the logistics-heavy stretch in Juneau. But even then, there’s always an emotional undercurrent. She writes with empathy. There’s tension, yeah, but also a real sense of stakes for these quiet, ordinary people caught in something bigger than them. Jonah himself is a standout. He’s tough, sure, but there’s a vulnerability there—he feels things deeply, and that gives the story its soul.
Raven’s Legacy is a thoughtful, rich, and emotional mystery with a lot of heart. If you’re looking for a mystery with real depth, layered characters, and a powerful sense of place, you’ll get a lot out of this one. I'd especially recommend it to fans of Dana Stabenow or those who love stories that blend culture, community, and quiet suspense.
April 14, 2025
Jonah is investigating the theft of Native artifacts from Koloshan. While the estimated value is $1.5 million, time is of the essence. These artifacts, including a beautiful Raven screen, mean more to the people of Koloshan than money. It ties into their identity, their culture. Will Jonah recover the artifacts in time, or will the thieves spill more blood to keep everyone quiet and escape the clutches of justice?
Raven’s Legacy is a serious detective mystery I couldn’t put down. From the first page to the last, I was invested. I thoroughly enjoyed the investigation. The descriptive narration focused on the small community and how one criminal act leads to the next and so on. The indigenous community is so well-described, I felt a part of it. There’s a fairly large cast of characters that are tied to the crime, it’s hard to figure out who is lying and who is telling the truth.
If you’re a mystery lover like me, you’ll love Raven’s Legacy. The writing is flawless and had me reading late into the night. A truly spectacular mystery. Raven’s Legacy is one of the best I’ve ever read.
My Rating: 5++ stars
Reviewed by: Nancy
This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/po...
Raven’s Legacy is a serious detective mystery I couldn’t put down. From the first page to the last, I was invested. I thoroughly enjoyed the investigation. The descriptive narration focused on the small community and how one criminal act leads to the next and so on. The indigenous community is so well-described, I felt a part of it. There’s a fairly large cast of characters that are tied to the crime, it’s hard to figure out who is lying and who is telling the truth.
If you’re a mystery lover like me, you’ll love Raven’s Legacy. The writing is flawless and had me reading late into the night. A truly spectacular mystery. Raven’s Legacy is one of the best I’ve ever read.
My Rating: 5++ stars
Reviewed by: Nancy
This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/po...
November 7, 2025
Raven’sLegacy is a mystery set in the islands of southeastern Alaska. The author’s description of a small wind and salt-blasted native village where outsider Jonah St. Clair is the police is nothing short of fantastic.
The mystery is compelling. It starts slow but matches the pace of the geological area. The difficulties of police work in an area where officers must be flown in and suspects can disappear easily complicates Jonah’s investigation. The theft of precious native artifacts causes a lot of tension on the island, and the theft isn’t as simple as it seems. To make matters worse, a wounded, angry bear makes searches in the forest profoundly risky. And the end came as a total surprise.
This is a great departure from crime stories lived out on city street with readily available precincts.
The mystery is compelling. It starts slow but matches the pace of the geological area. The difficulties of police work in an area where officers must be flown in and suspects can disappear easily complicates Jonah’s investigation. The theft of precious native artifacts causes a lot of tension on the island, and the theft isn’t as simple as it seems. To make matters worse, a wounded, angry bear makes searches in the forest profoundly risky. And the end came as a total surprise.
This is a great departure from crime stories lived out on city street with readily available precincts.
May 28, 2025
Not the worst, would have given it 2.5-3 stars except for two glaring anachronisms. Set in 1980, mentions not having a Jiffy Lube around as if it were already ubiquitous. First store was in 1979. The other was the mention of Riverdance which wasn’t around until the mid-90s.
I can’t quite define the more general ways this book was lacking. It had some good elements but the characters were pretty flat. Jonah likes coffee, that was about the most personality shown.
I can’t quite define the more general ways this book was lacking. It had some good elements but the characters were pretty flat. Jonah likes coffee, that was about the most personality shown.
June 11, 2025
Difficulties of Traditional v Modern
Nicely woven mixture of Tlingt mythology with the modern world and the problems it presents to traditional beliefs. Charlotte Stuart presents a wonderful fabric with threads to follow.
Nicely woven mixture of Tlingt mythology with the modern world and the problems it presents to traditional beliefs. Charlotte Stuart presents a wonderful fabric with threads to follow.
September 8, 2025
I liked this mystery, particularly the incorporation of the lore and culture of the indigenous people. It was a bit slow-moving, but overall entertaining with an unpredicted ending. I’d consider reading another by this author, although I am not tempted to grab up the next one right away.
November 3, 2025
Wonderful blend of culture and life
This is about one man's journey of right and wrong, future and past. It is full of cultural diversity and ways of life with crime and mystery thrown in. A pleasure to read.
This is about one man's journey of right and wrong, future and past. It is full of cultural diversity and ways of life with crime and mystery thrown in. A pleasure to read.
April 16, 2025
Great Book on Alaska’s native history
Great job on the past & the future of the people who live there future and past generations* Why it’s important to remember
Great job on the past & the future of the people who live there future and past generations* Why it’s important to remember
Read
May 12, 2025“A book that intrigues the mind and captures your imagination.” – The Mystery Review Crew, Full Review.
October 26, 2025
Unusual
I read another book about the tlingit. Your book just added so much more information and interest for me. The characters in the book seemed real to thank you.
I read another book about the tlingit. Your book just added so much more information and interest for me. The characters in the book seemed real to thank you.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews