Searching for Savanna: The Murder of One Native American Woman and the Violence Against the Many

by Mona Gable

A gripping and illuminating investigation into the disappearance of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind when she was eight months pregnant, highlighting the shocking epidemic of violence against Native American women in America and the societal ramifications of government inaction.

In the summer of 2017, twenty-two-year-old Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind vanished. A week after she disappeared, police arrested the white couple who lived upstairs from Savanna and emerged from their apartment carrying an infant girl. The baby was Savanna’s, but Savanna’s body would not be found for days.

The horrifying crime sent shock waves far beyond Fargo, North Dakota, where it occurred, and helped expose the sexual and physical violence Native American women and girls have endured since the country’s colonization.

With pathos and compassion, Searching for Savanna confronts this history of dehumanization toward Indigenous women and the government’s complicity in the crisis. Featuring in-depth interviews, personal accounts, and trial analysis, Searching for Savanna investigates these injustices and the decades-long struggle by Native American advocates for meaningful change.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Indigenous, History, Audiobook, Crime, Native American

320 pages, Hardcover

First published April 25, 2023

Reviews

[AF · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps the reason I am so angry with this book is that it feels disrespectful/careless given the importance of the subject matter: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. (If anyone has book recommendations about the topic, please share.)

There is a lot I could say about the format... In short, it was disorganized and repetitive, constantly jumping back and forth between the murder (2017), present, and general information on the MMIW crisis and Native American history. It makes no sense to me that the book is titled "Searching for Savanna" yet the entirety of the murder takes place in the first ~30 pages. I guess the rest of the book is supposed to focus on the aftermath, but all the author does is jumble up the timeline and repeat the same evidence over and over again. Each time, these details are described as "shocking" etc.--but I don't know how any reader with half a brain could be surprised by things that have already been mentioned multiple times.

I am genuinely shocked Gable is a writer by trade because nothing in this book suggests to me that she has that skill. This book reads like a rough draft that went overlooked in the mountain of manuscripts on her editor's desk and somehow made it to print. If you read this book, prepare yourself for countless typos, terrible grammar, and more fragments than the Sappho papyrus rolls. I am not exaggerating when I say I would have gotten a C if I submitted something of this quality in my middle school English class.

But the reason why this book is actually aggravating me is the way it treats Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, the book's protagonist and the victim of a murder/"womb robbing" in Fargo. Gable is profiting off of Greywind's name and story without making any real effort to humanize her. 95 percent of the information in the book is directly related to the murder and trial, while the other 5 percent is so basic/unremarkable that I could have found it within 10 minutes on Google. It says a lot that I just read 250 pages about Greywind yet do not feel like I know anything substantial about her--except for her murder. I'm sure Greywind had a full and interesting life, but Gable doesn't seem to care at all and merely reduces her to the moment of her death.

Do not support this book and do not support this writer. You're much better off giving your money to NIWRC.

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The topic is important and it's the main reason why I wanted to read this, but I don't feel like it was presented in the best way, something was missing.

What I like is that Savanna was the focus of the book, and I appreciate how the author tried to tie her case to MMIW, but the timeline was very jumpy, and the perpetrators trial (and lives) got too much coverage. I would've preferred to have seen a bigger focus on the Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women instead.

Parts of the book were very repetitive, I listened to the audio, and noticed some things repeating word-for-word in a different chapter.

But I still commend the author for attempting to bring more attention to this issue, I can say that I learned something about it that I didn't know before reading this book.

3.5

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the summer of 2017 twenty-two year old Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind vanished. She was 8 months pregnant and was about to move into an apartment with her boyfriend and the father of her unborn child, Ashton. A week later the couple who lived above Savanna's family appeared with an infant they couldn't explain and a few days later Savanna's body was found. This shocking case further highlighted statistics that show Native women often experience sexual violence and murder at much higher rates than other ethnicities. Mona Gable set out to tell Savanna's story and tie it to the MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) movement.

I really wanted to like this book and I did in the beginning. Gable does a good job of setting up the scene for when Savanna goes missing. One thing that was different in Savanna's case was that the police DID investigate pretty quickly and her case got a lot more media attention than other missing Indigenous persons cases. But, once the murderers are caught and the baby is found alive the book just goes downhill. It's extremely repetitive and there are a lot of oddly written/quoted sections. Plus, later in the book you find out that Savanna's family didn't really speak to author much so I'm curious how she got all the background info if they weren't really speaking with her in depth. And there was very little tie in to other MMIW cases. There were a few sections on how Indigenous women were trying to get more funding and attention to MMIW issues, but that was definitely not a major focus of the book. Overall, after the killers were caught the book just seemed to rehash a lot of the same content over and over. I definitely think it could have been written in a better way to tell Savanna's story AND include more information on other MMIW cases/stories. It would have been extremely helpful to know how many more MMIW cases were there just in the timeframe from Savanna's disappearance to the conclusion of the murder trials. Overall, I wish it were better but I wouldn't recommend this one.

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Such a horrible thing to happen to this young woman but this book does not do her justice. This was not the right case to highlight the plight of indigenous women. I have read several other books on this topic that were much better than this. The author talks about how indigenous women are victims of violence and go missing more than any other group. The media don't report on them, the police don't investigate them, offenders are not prosecuted, etc. The author also says this is due to systemic racism. However, in this case the victim was found, the police did search, it was all over the media, and it was not a racial crime, they took her baby. Both of her murderers went to prison. She was not sexually assaulted (the author talks about cultural sexualization of indigenous women). I'm not sure why the author chose this case to highlight as it is the exception not the rule. The writing is also repetitive and poorly supported.

[Tori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars because the subject is important but I don't feel the author did the topic justice at all. Jumped ahead to read the epilogue but DNFed at 71%. Feels invasive and poorly researched for the majority of the book. Lots of information primarily taken from social media and too much time given to the back and forth of the perpetrators dialogue and feelings in the trial with not enough focus on Savanna or the murders of indigenous women. Or even really why/how this happened. Poorly written. Repetitive, disjointed, and confusing structure. The epilogue was probably one of the better parts. Wouldn't recommend this. Glad I know about Savanna's story though.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very important case and I’m glad that the author centered Savanna in the story. However, the structure and voice of this was all over the place and disorganized. I wish the author spent more time focusing on the larger issue of MMIW as this case is an example where the victim and murderers were found and convicted. The author spent about 10% of the book talking about the issue generally, but I wish more focus was put on this

[Elizabeth Chadsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important topic. This one jumped around a bit between Savanna’s murder and the big picture issue of MMIW in a way that isn’t my fave. I’d recommend Red River Girl first, (or highway of tears!) but it’s still def worth reading.

[Krysten · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed how the book turned out. I chose it at the bookstore due to the title and wanting to educate myself and learn more about missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW) I first off wasn’t sure why this author chose to write about Savanna’s story when her other work is on climate change and sustainability. I would have liked to have read it in the point of view of an indigenous person. It didn’t flow well. Sometimes I was confused about what time frame it was or when the event she was writing about was happening. I also would have liked to know more about Savanna herself and her story before she was killed.

[Barb reads......it ALL! · Rating 4 out of 5]

#NonFictionNovember - Book 11

A powerful, moving book about one young, Native woman's horrible murder and about the greater horror of all the Missing and Murdered Indigeneous Women, MMIW.
The research is deep and will shock you.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

When talking to my son who read the book, and what we both thought about it. He expressed it so well, any book that brings attention about the issue of missing and murdered Native Americans is good!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting and insane story. I’m glad the author wrote it to increase awareness, I also hope the family is benefiting from this publication.

[Meaghan Waller Haxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The aim of this book is well-intentioned, but misses the mark. It would have been more impactful if the book had two distinct parts or had been written as two separate books all together. The murder of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind and the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women are connected, yes, but I don't think Savanna's case is emblematic of the greater issue. If the book had been structured to show how Savanna's murder led to more awareness of the MMIW movement and explored more from there, it would have had more impact. Instead, the argument doesn't back up the thesis and the narrative jumps around, leaving the timeline confusing and disorganized. The author name-drops a few other MMIW cases, but does nothing to highlight them or bring awareness to their cases.

[Scottie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was so badly written. It was circular and repetitive and seemingly had no point other than to capitalize off of the horrific murder of a young indigenous woman. Also the title is extremely misleading because there is literally NO analysis of MMIW?

[Vampfiction · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too long and too many time switches.

[Leonie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I had done more research into this book before I picked it up. Firstly, the author is not native. She doesn't have to be, you can speak up for marginalised groups which you are not a part of. However, it makes the insensitivity with which she approaches Savanna's loved ones even more jarring. Leave the family and Ashton alone. Stop harassing them five years after their daughter/girlfriend was killed. They are trying to raise a baby, shield her from the terrible violence that brought her to this world. You are not entitled to their time or their story! Secondly, I was hoping this would be an exploration of Savanna's tragic death which would expand into the large scale issue of violence against native women. It wasn't that. It never became that. Instead it felt like some true crime podcast bullshit, were a woman's murder and her family's loss was turned into entertainment. I am ashamed to have given this woman any bit of my money, albeit I am glad I audio-booked it on Spotify so she will at most be getting pennies.

Not only is this an exploitative book, giving so much space to the people who murdered Savanna rather than the issues facing native women, but it is also so poorly written. My god how is this woman a writer and what dimwitted editor approved the draft. Maybe it is more noticeable in the audiobook, but she fully repeats several sentences throughout the book. And the way she jumps through the timeline and perspectives, I couldn't keep up and at times was confused what she was even trying to get at.

It is possible that Savanna's story - albeit excruciatingly tragic - was not a good example of the plight of MMIW. She was found. Her murderers imprisoned. Her case became a headline. Many families do not share that experience when their loved ones go missing. I truly hope someone writes a book with this premise one day. Exploring the cases, the failures of the legal system, giving these murdered and missing women and girls their names back. Because at the end of the day, the premise is good. The author just failed in every aspect to deliver it.

*note on the 1 star review - yes this is the same number of stars I gave 'How to Sleep at Night'. No, this book is not worse than it. This book truly deserves one star, How to Sleep at Night deserves none. But goodreads won't let me do that.

[Kaitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book from the library for Native American Heritage Month, and while I did find good meaning and purpose in it, this came from already knowing about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement. If you didn't know about it, this would be a very confusing first foray into the movement. The book would be better if it was more clearly organized; perhaps if the first half focused on Savanna and the second half focused on the movement. What happened to Savanna was a true tragedy, but it was hard to focus on that when you randomly encountered a chapter about something happening in DC.

All in all, it's worth a read if you know about the MMIW movement, but I'd suggest learning more about the Highway of Tears and other facets of the movement before tackling this book.

[Noel نوال · Rating 1 out of 5]

MMIW is extremely important to keep talking about, bring awareness on, and to keep fighting against a system that allows this to continue to happen. What happened to Savanna is devastating and horrific.
This book needs an entire rewrite; it is highly repetitive and at times feels like it uses the shock factor of what happened to Savanna over and over. Savanna as a person, before what happened to her is lost in this book, and it would have been better to have shared her life far before those monsters took it, but instead this book just repeats over and over what was done to her and is not very well organized.
The book needs major reconstruction, a lot of purging, and a focus on Savanna as a person and not just what was done to her repeated 47 times.

[Aadi Miglani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book via Adventures by the Book.

I wrote this review in collaboration with bookish event company Adventures By the Book based in Southern California, where I am interning. You can check out ABTB https://adventuresbythebook.com/

___________________________________________________________

Mona Gable intricately and informatively introduces us to the complete picture of the missing and murdered Indigenous women in America that we have overlooked for far too long. This story is one that should have been told already, making Gable’s book even more poignant. There are countless injustices that we push aside and treat as taboo, and Gable’s narrative successfully makes an effort at pulling one of those injustices out from under the rug.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

At 8 months pregnant, twenty-year-old Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind goes missing, last seen at her neighbors’ apartment. Despite multiple consensual searches through that apartment by police, Savanna’s family is convinced something more is going on and that police aren’t taking their daughter’s disappearance seriously. As Gable explores the horrific story of what happened to Savanna, she also delves into the oft overlooked epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. She shares some of the progress and setbacks in the movement, while simultaneously sharing Savanna’s story.

While Savanna’s story is devastating and certainly should be told, as well as attention shed on the MMIW movement, this book didn’t do as great a job as I would have hoped. I believe Gable’s aims were honorable and she does share a lot of important information; however, the way she organized the book detracted from it for me. What happened to Savanna is pretty much immediately covered, followed by many side storylines involving MMIW activists before returning to discuss Savanna’s family and then her case, both of which are frequently interrupted by more MMIW information. It makes the story lack cohesion, and the investment in Savanna’s case falters as a result; whereas, I believe following Savanna’s case completely before delving into wider implications of her story might have made a greater impact overall.

[Kathy Sleeper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping and illuminating investigation into the disappearance of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind when she was eight months pregnant, highlighting the shocking epidemic of violence against Native American women in America and the societal ramifications of government inaction.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really really wanted to like this one... but I really didn't have any feelings about this book besides meh. I picked up this book for Savanna's story, not the author going in to great detail about happenings in congress about bills that didn't get passed. Don't get me wrong, I think understanding the crisis of MMIW is incredibly important, but it seemed like the author was using Savanna's name and story to talk about how shitty senators are.

[Jasmine Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting True Crime story with a lot of historical information all wrapped into one book! However, the chapters bounce around between different events throughout Savanna’s life, her disappearance, and the sentencing of the suspects. This makes the story a little confusing to follow.

[Honor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sorry so many women and girls have to go through similar things to Savanna and the story hit a nerve and reminded me of another case I've heard about recently. I hope the American government and the world make a step in making the world a safer place (for women).

[Lisa | Read Between the Spines · Rating 3 out of 5]

Searching for Savanna is a sobering true crime account that highlights the missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) crisis through the case of 22-year old Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a member of the Spirit Lake Tribe of North Dakota who disappeared while 8-months pregnant.

True crime so often focuses on the perpetrator of the crime and glosses over the victim. Mona Gable did an excellent job centering this story on Savanna. Rather than glorifying Savanna’s death or the crimes against her, Gable gives readers a factual account of events while focusing on Savanna as a person. I was able to gain an understanding of Savanna’s personality and life as well as those around her. Of course, this also served Gable’s purpose of tying this case to the larger MMIW epidemic.

What did not work as well for me was how Gable structured the book. The story is front-loaded. Except for the trial, Savanna’s disappearance and the investigation is told quickly at the beginning. The rest of the narrative is details about Savanna and her life, the court case against her assailants, and the context of MMIW and government inaction. I found this structure to be strange and to do a disservice to the content.

While I am familiar with the MMIW crisis, I am less knowledgeable about its legal and political history in the U.S. I had hoped that reading Searching for Savanna would provide me more background about and context to the issue. While Gable does discuss the MMIW movement among Indigenous women, she did not provide much detail about the broader issue or how it impacts Native women and families. I also thought Gable’s attempt to discuss the government’s neglect of MMIW and the legal landscape to be rudimentary. For example, she discusses the reauthorization struggles of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) at the time of Savanna’s disappearance but fails to provide the background and history of the law.

I would have liked for Savanna’s case to be compared and contrasted against the norm for MMIW cases. From what I know, there were aspects that deviated from the norm and using her case to discuss the broader issue fails to recognition what went better and worse than other MMIW cases. I also think if Searching for Savanna better integrated the broader context with the personal story the narrative would be more interesting and less repetitive.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Searching for Savanna. It is an excellent example of a true crime book that focuses on the victim and does not glorify the crime or others’ pain. If you are unfamiliar with the MMIW crisis, I think this is a good introduction that also frames the case of one woman.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A terrible tragic end for another indigenous woman, this true crime book treats Savanna's case with care but as the book continues too much attention is given to the trial of the perpetrators and not enough on 'the violence against the many'.

[Allison Schmitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book looked deeply into Savannah’s case, but I wish it would have focused more on the bigger theme of the issue of murdered and missing Indigenous women.

[Jeni · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is horrible. The way the book tells the story could have been more straightforward. While the author does try and tie the murder into the larger issue of violence against indigenous women, it seems like the focus shifts bring down the book.

[Mou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Savanna's case is tragic, but sadly not an anamoly. This book gives a close look at Savanna's case while also bringing attention to how the protection of Native American women has been neglected.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay not the best.

[Maria Efting · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely powerful and important book on an issue not enough people know about. Could have been 4 or 5 stars with better editing…the booked jumped around a lot and didn’t love the writing style. Still recommend though