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Syd Walker #1
Blood Sisters
A visceral and compelling mystery about a Cherokee archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs who is summoned to rural Oklahoma to investigate the disappearance of two women…one of them her sister.
There are secrets in the land.
As an archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Syd Walker spends her days in Rhode Island trying to protect the land's indigenous past, even as she’s escaping her own.
While Syd is dedicated to her job, she’s haunted by a night of violence she barely escaped in her Oklahoma hometown fifteen years ago. Though she swore she’d never go back, the past comes calling.
When a skull is found near the crime scene of her youth, just as her sister, Emma Lou, vanishes, Syd knows she must return home. She refuses to let her sister's disappearance, or the remains, go ignored—as so often happens in cases of missing Native women.
But not everyone is glad to have Syd home, and she can feel the crosshairs on her. Still, the deeper Syd digs, the more she uncovers about a string of missing indigenous women cases going back decades. To save her sister, she must expose a darkness in the town that no one wants to face—not even Syd.
The truth will be unearthed.
There are secrets in the land.
As an archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Syd Walker spends her days in Rhode Island trying to protect the land's indigenous past, even as she’s escaping her own.
While Syd is dedicated to her job, she’s haunted by a night of violence she barely escaped in her Oklahoma hometown fifteen years ago. Though she swore she’d never go back, the past comes calling.
When a skull is found near the crime scene of her youth, just as her sister, Emma Lou, vanishes, Syd knows she must return home. She refuses to let her sister's disappearance, or the remains, go ignored—as so often happens in cases of missing Native women.
But not everyone is glad to have Syd home, and she can feel the crosshairs on her. Still, the deeper Syd digs, the more she uncovers about a string of missing indigenous women cases going back decades. To save her sister, she must expose a darkness in the town that no one wants to face—not even Syd.
The truth will be unearthed.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 12, 2023
498 people are currently reading
22638 people want to read
About the author
Vanessa Lillie
7 books765 followersVanessa Lillie is the USA Today bestselling author of Blood Sisters, a new series centered on the stories of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which was a Target Book Club pick and GMA Book Club Buzz Pick, as well as a best mystery of the year from the Washington Post, Amazon Editor’s and Reader’s Digest. The sequel, The Bone Thief, will be out October 28, 2025.
Her other thrillers are Little Voices, For the Best and she’s the creator and coauthor of the # 1 Audible Charts bestseller and International Thriller Writers award nominated,Young Rich Widows, set in Providence, RI where she lives, with the Audible Original sequel Desperate Deadly Widows and print edition recently released.
Originally from Miami, Oklahoma, she is a proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Vanessa wrote a weekly column for the Providence Journal about her experiences during the first year of the pandemic. She hosts an Instagram Live show, ‘Twas the Night Before Book Launch, where she chats with authors the night before their book is out in the world.
Her other thrillers are Little Voices, For the Best and she’s the creator and coauthor of the # 1 Audible Charts bestseller and International Thriller Writers award nominated,Young Rich Widows, set in Providence, RI where she lives, with the Audible Original sequel Desperate Deadly Widows and print edition recently released.
Originally from Miami, Oklahoma, she is a proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Vanessa wrote a weekly column for the Providence Journal about her experiences during the first year of the pandemic. She hosts an Instagram Live show, ‘Twas the Night Before Book Launch, where she chats with authors the night before their book is out in the world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 774 reviews
October 28, 2023
Blood Sisters
by Vanessa Lillie is a compelling and heartbreaking mystery featuring Syd Walker, a Cherokee archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. While this is a fictional story, it deals with a real-life issue. Across the United States and Canada there is an extremely high rate of missing or murdered indigenous women and girls.
Syd lives and works in Rhode Island, but when a skull is found near her home town of Picher, Oklahoma, she is assigned to help on the case. Then she learns that her sister Emma Lou, who still lives in Oklahoma, has disappeared. Their parents didn’t tell Syd until she showed up at their home. Syd and Emma Lou survived a frightening night of violence when they were young and it still haunts Syd, who stays in Oklahoma to find her sister. However, not everyone is happy that Syd is back in town as she digs for information and searches for Emma Lou.
Syd is dedicated to her job, but tends to go it alone rather than asking for help and taking back-up. She’s also facing a personal relationship crisis that has her upset and confused. She’s determined and tenacious, but sometimes lets preconceived ideas override what others tell her. Her purposefulness towards getting answers and solving the mysteries never wavered.
This well-written and well-researched novel transported me to Oklahoma in 2008. Descriptions allowed me to easily visualize the conditions without slowing the pace. I was immediately pulled into the story and stayed engaged throughout. It was fast-paced with a smooth flow. With plenty of action, this novel will appeal to many crime thriller fans too. The plot is twisty and multi-layered with several surprises along the way. My one quibble is that I wanted more closure on Syd’s relationship with her wife Mal. Themes include violence against women and girls, mineral wealth being stripped from the land and the resulting health effects, poverty, drug addiction, and much more.
Overall, I am glad I read this novel, which was suspenseful, gritty, touching, heartbreaking, and atmospheric. While fictional, it is based on real events that occurred in and near Picher. The author also weaves in information about American history and politics as it relates to Native Americans. This is my first novel by this author, but I am looking forward to reading her next book. My understanding is that this is the first book in a series. The author’s note at the end of the book was very informative.
Berkley Publishing Group and Vanessa Lillie provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for October 31, 2023. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
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My 4.52 rounded to 5 stars review is coming soon.
Syd lives and works in Rhode Island, but when a skull is found near her home town of Picher, Oklahoma, she is assigned to help on the case. Then she learns that her sister Emma Lou, who still lives in Oklahoma, has disappeared. Their parents didn’t tell Syd until she showed up at their home. Syd and Emma Lou survived a frightening night of violence when they were young and it still haunts Syd, who stays in Oklahoma to find her sister. However, not everyone is happy that Syd is back in town as she digs for information and searches for Emma Lou.
Syd is dedicated to her job, but tends to go it alone rather than asking for help and taking back-up. She’s also facing a personal relationship crisis that has her upset and confused. She’s determined and tenacious, but sometimes lets preconceived ideas override what others tell her. Her purposefulness towards getting answers and solving the mysteries never wavered.
This well-written and well-researched novel transported me to Oklahoma in 2008. Descriptions allowed me to easily visualize the conditions without slowing the pace. I was immediately pulled into the story and stayed engaged throughout. It was fast-paced with a smooth flow. With plenty of action, this novel will appeal to many crime thriller fans too. The plot is twisty and multi-layered with several surprises along the way. My one quibble is that I wanted more closure on Syd’s relationship with her wife Mal. Themes include violence against women and girls, mineral wealth being stripped from the land and the resulting health effects, poverty, drug addiction, and much more.
Overall, I am glad I read this novel, which was suspenseful, gritty, touching, heartbreaking, and atmospheric. While fictional, it is based on real events that occurred in and near Picher. The author also weaves in information about American history and politics as it relates to Native Americans. This is my first novel by this author, but I am looking forward to reading her next book. My understanding is that this is the first book in a series. The author’s note at the end of the book was very informative.
Berkley Publishing Group and Vanessa Lillie provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for October 31, 2023. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
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My 4.52 rounded to 5 stars review is coming soon.
February 21, 2024
Listening for the Voices
We are blind. We are deaf. Thousands of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls call out and those voices are lost in the wind. Genocide is being perpetrated and we are oblivious. Make the victim one close to your heart and the issue would burn.
Syd Walker is a Cherokee archeologist working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Rhode Island. While studying the remains of a murder victim, she is called back to her home in Pincer, Oklahoma, where a skull has been discovered containing an old ID tag of hers. Someone is sending her a message and it has to do with a traumatic episode in her past in which five people died– including her friend, Luna, and one of the ‘devils’ Syd shot and killed. Her sister, Emma Lou, survived the attack but was never the same, spiraling into drug addiction. Syd remains haunted by survivor’s guilt and the ever-present spirit of Luna.
When Syd arrives back home, she discovers Emma Lou has disappeared. Pincer is now beset with major drug dealings, multiple body discoveries, shady land grabs, and an environment poisoned in the aftermath of mining. She is driven to find her sister, unwilling to allow her to be lumped into the thousands of missing Native women. After a few stumbles, the action picks up, there is a shocking twist revealed, and distractions are pushed aside as you make time to rush to the conclusion.
The character of Syd Walker possesses the potential to lead an important series. An independent Cherokee archeologist - investigator who is also lesbian– you just do not hear that voice much in literature. Fighting to change the culture of the BIA, “…created to control and, in many cases, eliminate Native peoples’ relationship with the land,” she is looked down upon by many of her own as working for the enemy.
This is a promising time for Native voices. Tony Hillerman’s Navajo novels have been retooled by Native artists in “Dark Winds.” The FX series, “Reservation Dogs” has also produced some incredible work, screening realistic, three-dimensional people. On the literary front, authors such as Morgan Talty, Tommy Orange, and Mona Susan Power are just a few recently breaking down preconceived notions and increasing awareness of past and present realities.
A very enjoyable read, as Vanessa Lillie succeeds in delivering an engrossing mystery, bringing out important issues without preaching a heavy-handed sermon. I hope to see the world through Syd Walker lens in the near future.
Thank you to the Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #BloodSisters #NetGalley
We are blind. We are deaf. Thousands of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls call out and those voices are lost in the wind. Genocide is being perpetrated and we are oblivious. Make the victim one close to your heart and the issue would burn.
Syd Walker is a Cherokee archeologist working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Rhode Island. While studying the remains of a murder victim, she is called back to her home in Pincer, Oklahoma, where a skull has been discovered containing an old ID tag of hers. Someone is sending her a message and it has to do with a traumatic episode in her past in which five people died– including her friend, Luna, and one of the ‘devils’ Syd shot and killed. Her sister, Emma Lou, survived the attack but was never the same, spiraling into drug addiction. Syd remains haunted by survivor’s guilt and the ever-present spirit of Luna.
When Syd arrives back home, she discovers Emma Lou has disappeared. Pincer is now beset with major drug dealings, multiple body discoveries, shady land grabs, and an environment poisoned in the aftermath of mining. She is driven to find her sister, unwilling to allow her to be lumped into the thousands of missing Native women. After a few stumbles, the action picks up, there is a shocking twist revealed, and distractions are pushed aside as you make time to rush to the conclusion.
The character of Syd Walker possesses the potential to lead an important series. An independent Cherokee archeologist - investigator who is also lesbian– you just do not hear that voice much in literature. Fighting to change the culture of the BIA, “…created to control and, in many cases, eliminate Native peoples’ relationship with the land,” she is looked down upon by many of her own as working for the enemy.
This is a promising time for Native voices. Tony Hillerman’s Navajo novels have been retooled by Native artists in “Dark Winds.” The FX series, “Reservation Dogs” has also produced some incredible work, screening realistic, three-dimensional people. On the literary front, authors such as Morgan Talty, Tommy Orange, and Mona Susan Power are just a few recently breaking down preconceived notions and increasing awareness of past and present realities.
A very enjoyable read, as Vanessa Lillie succeeds in delivering an engrossing mystery, bringing out important issues without preaching a heavy-handed sermon. I hope to see the world through Syd Walker lens in the near future.
Thank you to the Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #BloodSisters #NetGalley
November 15, 2023
**Many thanks to Catherine Barra at Berkley and Vanessa Lillie for an ARC of this book provided via NetGalley! Now available as of 10.31!!**
Syd Walker works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and her work is nothing short of vital to her community: as an archaeologist, she strives to help uncover the mysteries hiding in the buried bones she discovers.Indigenous women are one of the most likely subsets of people to go missing and/or be murdered with little recourse, and although Syd lives in Rhode Island now, her hometown in Oklahoma is near and dear to her heart. When a skull turns up at the site of Syd's sister Emma Lou's disappearance, it feels like Oklahoma is TRULY calling her back to solve the case once and for all.
When Syd returns, however, she falls back in with some of the people from her past...and starts to slowly discover connections she never knew existed. The seedy drug scene has taken over the town of Picher, and Syd is shocked to learn some of the people who have been lured in and she feels an even stronger urge to get to the bottom of the long string of disappearances over time. With tension bubbling at the surface, Syd tries to balance her strained (and now long distance) relationship with wife Mal AND her detective work...all while "Ghost Luna" keeps coming to visit...and Syd can't get the voice out of her head. Can Syd crack the decades-long code and find the missing girls...or was her whole trip back a carefully plotted attempt to take her "off of the case"...permanently?
Vanessa Lillie is a new to me author, but one I've been wanting to try, and I was intrigued by this book's premise and the promise of important Native American rep in the thriller space. I tried to get on board with Syd from early on: we were told about her first digging discovery and although it felt a bit outside the margins from what I normally read, I was determined to stay invested and follow her on her journey back to her hometown. Unfortunately, once we got there (and were done hearing about Syd's wife and their martial woes FAR more than was necessary) I found most of the characters in the Oklahoma setting to be not only unlikable, but more along the lines of stereotype than I would prefer to read, and therefore found it hard to be engaged in their conversations with Syd and all of the ensuing drama.
Ghost Luna is also a looming and repetitive presence in this book; so much so that frankly I was tired of hearing from her. Perhaps I'm just a bit burned out on the trope as of late, but without explanation or true emotional impact (we have to wait to hear full backstory for Luna until much later in the book) she seemed more like a nuisance than a necessary part of the plot. She doesn't really disappear until the end of the book, but I had lost interest in the overall mystery long before we reached the conclusion, and this sadly became one of those books that felt far more forgettable than it should have been.
Another issue I had is that in some ways this book was reminiscent of a book I LOVED (although it too was a bit of a slow burn): Chevy Stevens' Dark Roads. Both stories deal with missing Native girls and a sister returning to her home to try to find out what happened to her murdered sister. Although the overall tone and the plots of these stories varied dramatically, Stevens writing was so engaging, visceral, and spooky...everything I hoped to find in these pages, but was sorely lacking in my reading experience. Both authors have brought long overdue attention to a grassroots movement known as MMIWG2S – Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit and have sought to amplify this injustice, and for THAT, I'm grateful.
My only wish in regards to the content of this story was that it had matched the intensity of the MMIWG2S movement itself...and that like any grassroots movement, through determination and education, this book can be one more voice rising above the violence until the the rallying cry becomes a reality: "No More Stolen Sisters."
3.5 stars
Syd Walker works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and her work is nothing short of vital to her community: as an archaeologist, she strives to help uncover the mysteries hiding in the buried bones she discovers.Indigenous women are one of the most likely subsets of people to go missing and/or be murdered with little recourse, and although Syd lives in Rhode Island now, her hometown in Oklahoma is near and dear to her heart. When a skull turns up at the site of Syd's sister Emma Lou's disappearance, it feels like Oklahoma is TRULY calling her back to solve the case once and for all.
When Syd returns, however, she falls back in with some of the people from her past...and starts to slowly discover connections she never knew existed. The seedy drug scene has taken over the town of Picher, and Syd is shocked to learn some of the people who have been lured in and she feels an even stronger urge to get to the bottom of the long string of disappearances over time. With tension bubbling at the surface, Syd tries to balance her strained (and now long distance) relationship with wife Mal AND her detective work...all while "Ghost Luna" keeps coming to visit...and Syd can't get the voice out of her head. Can Syd crack the decades-long code and find the missing girls...or was her whole trip back a carefully plotted attempt to take her "off of the case"...permanently?
Vanessa Lillie is a new to me author, but one I've been wanting to try, and I was intrigued by this book's premise and the promise of important Native American rep in the thriller space. I tried to get on board with Syd from early on: we were told about her first digging discovery and although it felt a bit outside the margins from what I normally read, I was determined to stay invested and follow her on her journey back to her hometown. Unfortunately, once we got there (and were done hearing about Syd's wife and their martial woes FAR more than was necessary) I found most of the characters in the Oklahoma setting to be not only unlikable, but more along the lines of stereotype than I would prefer to read, and therefore found it hard to be engaged in their conversations with Syd and all of the ensuing drama.
Ghost Luna is also a looming and repetitive presence in this book; so much so that frankly I was tired of hearing from her. Perhaps I'm just a bit burned out on the trope as of late, but without explanation or true emotional impact (we have to wait to hear full backstory for Luna until much later in the book) she seemed more like a nuisance than a necessary part of the plot. She doesn't really disappear until the end of the book, but I had lost interest in the overall mystery long before we reached the conclusion, and this sadly became one of those books that felt far more forgettable than it should have been.
Another issue I had is that in some ways this book was reminiscent of a book I LOVED (although it too was a bit of a slow burn): Chevy Stevens' Dark Roads. Both stories deal with missing Native girls and a sister returning to her home to try to find out what happened to her murdered sister. Although the overall tone and the plots of these stories varied dramatically, Stevens writing was so engaging, visceral, and spooky...everything I hoped to find in these pages, but was sorely lacking in my reading experience. Both authors have brought long overdue attention to a grassroots movement known as MMIWG2S – Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit and have sought to amplify this injustice, and for THAT, I'm grateful.
My only wish in regards to the content of this story was that it had matched the intensity of the MMIWG2S movement itself...and that like any grassroots movement, through determination and education, this book can be one more voice rising above the violence until the the rallying cry becomes a reality: "No More Stolen Sisters."
3.5 stars
April 3, 2023
BLOOD SISTERS focuses on archaeologist Syd Walker, an Oklahoma Cherokee woman who lives in Rhode Island working for the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs). When Syd gets news of bones being discovered at the scene of a crime that took place with her 15 years ago, she is compelled to use her experience as an archaeologist to help solve the case. It just so happens that her sister Emma Lou has also disappeared as well. When Syd returns back to Oklahoma, she encounters a slew of corrupt drug dealers, government officials, and local townsfolk all trying to silence her. Syd starts to uncover that these discovered bones will lead her down a path she was never expecting to go.
BLOOD SISTERS is being called a visceral and compelling mystery; “bingeworthy” by Caroline Kepnes; personal and raw—and I can confirm that all of the above are true. I felt Lillie’s dedication to this story and her unwavering support in getting the facts about the treatment of the United States’ Indigenous population. This story is deeply person—Vanessa, just like our protagonist Syd, is a white-passing Indigenous woman who embraces her heritage, is from Oklahoma, and has relocated to Rhode Island. I felt Vanessa speaking through Syd’s voice and her author’s note at the end is the perfect bow on top of this amazing story. I devoured this story over the weekend, but I wish I savored it a big longer because I loved every second. Congrats Vanessa on this amazing story and cover reveal! This book will be in my top ten of the year for sure!
BLOOD SISTERS is being called a visceral and compelling mystery; “bingeworthy” by Caroline Kepnes; personal and raw—and I can confirm that all of the above are true. I felt Lillie’s dedication to this story and her unwavering support in getting the facts about the treatment of the United States’ Indigenous population. This story is deeply person—Vanessa, just like our protagonist Syd, is a white-passing Indigenous woman who embraces her heritage, is from Oklahoma, and has relocated to Rhode Island. I felt Vanessa speaking through Syd’s voice and her author’s note at the end is the perfect bow on top of this amazing story. I devoured this story over the weekend, but I wish I savored it a big longer because I loved every second. Congrats Vanessa on this amazing story and cover reveal! This book will be in my top ten of the year for sure!
November 1, 2023
Syd Walker a Cherokee from Oklahoma works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Rhode Island as an archeologist trying to preserve the indigenous people’s history. Even though Syd is happily married to an amazing wife, she is haunted by trauma from her past and vows never to return to her hometown.
When a skull is found near Syd’s childhood home, and her sister Emma Lou has vanished without a trace, she is forced to return to her past. Soon after arriving in Oklahoma, Syd learns that not everyone in her hometown is glad that she is back.
At present, the indigenous community is in crisis due to the shocking number of missing women who have vanished without a trace. In Blood Sisters, Vanessa Lillie gave a voice to the thousands of missing Indigenous women across the United States as well as their loved ones left behind. Not just that, the author also included important tidbits of the indigenous people's history (not the whitewashed version) in this book.
I connected deeply to this story and I loved the main character Syd. I'm always on the lookout for books by indigenous authors and I love how Vanessa Lillie represented indigenous women, like myself, in Blood Sisters! Syd is one badass lady that is not to be messed with! She is a fierce indigenous woman who will stop at no end to protect the ones she loves. This action-packed crime thriller kept me on the edge of my seat, gripping my Kindle, and dying to know what would happen next! The story also has excellent pacing and is very well written.
I keep a running list of recommendations when people ask me for book recommendations by indigenous authors and Blood Sisters has made its way onto that list. Not only is it a highly entertaining crime thriller, but the underlying themes make this a very important read.
I listened to the audiobook version which is narrated by Carolina Hoyos and Erin Tripp. They did an amazing job reading Blood Sisters and I highly recommend this format!
Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie will be available on October 31. Many thanks to Penguin Random House Audio and Berkley Pub for the gifted audiobook!
When a skull is found near Syd’s childhood home, and her sister Emma Lou has vanished without a trace, she is forced to return to her past. Soon after arriving in Oklahoma, Syd learns that not everyone in her hometown is glad that she is back.
At present, the indigenous community is in crisis due to the shocking number of missing women who have vanished without a trace. In Blood Sisters, Vanessa Lillie gave a voice to the thousands of missing Indigenous women across the United States as well as their loved ones left behind. Not just that, the author also included important tidbits of the indigenous people's history (not the whitewashed version) in this book.
I connected deeply to this story and I loved the main character Syd. I'm always on the lookout for books by indigenous authors and I love how Vanessa Lillie represented indigenous women, like myself, in Blood Sisters! Syd is one badass lady that is not to be messed with! She is a fierce indigenous woman who will stop at no end to protect the ones she loves. This action-packed crime thriller kept me on the edge of my seat, gripping my Kindle, and dying to know what would happen next! The story also has excellent pacing and is very well written.
I keep a running list of recommendations when people ask me for book recommendations by indigenous authors and Blood Sisters has made its way onto that list. Not only is it a highly entertaining crime thriller, but the underlying themes make this a very important read.
I listened to the audiobook version which is narrated by Carolina Hoyos and Erin Tripp. They did an amazing job reading Blood Sisters and I highly recommend this format!
Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie will be available on October 31. Many thanks to Penguin Random House Audio and Berkley Pub for the gifted audiobook!
November 14, 2023
Wowza...It's been a long time since a largely fictional book has hit me as hard as Blood Sisters has!
This book really hit me personally, as I'm from Oklahoma and was raised in a small town that actually competed against Picher (School district was named Picher Cardin), and I very much remember when the two girls, who were my age, disappeared from Welch, Oklahoma. I've always wondered what became of them and although the authorities have recently identified the perpetrators (two of which are deceased already), they have yet to discover the girls' remains, which many people speculate are located somewhere in the mines.....heartbreaking stuff.
That similarity to the true crime story in itself was enough to garner my interest in reading this ASAP. The fantastic writing, break-neck pace and incredibly authentic, complicated and REAL characters, as well as their cultural and daily struggles is what kept me reading! No need to point out the intense action and increasing urgency in finding the missing, I was truly at the edge of my seat! Upon finishing this, late last night, I felt as though I knew the characters personally, and was actually a bit sad it was all over. If that isn't a sign of an amazing reading experience I just don't know what is!
This is a novel I highly recommend, to fans of any genre!!
This book really hit me personally, as I'm from Oklahoma and was raised in a small town that actually competed against Picher (School district was named Picher Cardin), and I very much remember when the two girls, who were my age, disappeared from Welch, Oklahoma. I've always wondered what became of them and although the authorities have recently identified the perpetrators (two of which are deceased already), they have yet to discover the girls' remains, which many people speculate are located somewhere in the mines.....heartbreaking stuff.
That similarity to the true crime story in itself was enough to garner my interest in reading this ASAP. The fantastic writing, break-neck pace and incredibly authentic, complicated and REAL characters, as well as their cultural and daily struggles is what kept me reading! No need to point out the intense action and increasing urgency in finding the missing, I was truly at the edge of my seat! Upon finishing this, late last night, I felt as though I knew the characters personally, and was actually a bit sad it was all over. If that isn't a sign of an amazing reading experience I just don't know what is!
This is a novel I highly recommend, to fans of any genre!!
November 2, 2023
This is a unique thriller that I really enjoyed. It was a great bonus that it highlights the horrible treatment that missing indigenous women experience. The narrator for the story is beautifully flawed and I was rooting hard for her. Syd hasn’t been home in years, but she works for the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) and her old intern badge was found in the mouth of a skull in her home town. Her boss wants her loaned on special assignment. When she arrives she finds that her sister is missing. At first she is just sad, convinced her sister has relapsed again, but as she learns more of her sisters current life she realizes the devil returned for her and it seems clearer and clearer that she isn’t gone of her own free will. Past and present intertwine in this story as do politics including the poor treatment including theft from indigenous people. This was a strong book and I definitely will keep an eye out for more books from this author. Overall I gave it 4.5 stars rounded up.
November 7, 2023
As an avid reader, it's always exciting for me to discover books that stimulate and challenge me while also enlightening me on social issues. Extra points to an author who tackles a subject rooted in history and yet one that's still prevalent in today's world, rendering it in such a manner as to be highly entertaining at the same time as educational. Without Lillie's skill and mesmerizing prose, BLOOD SISTERS might have been one long sermon on the injustices suffered by Native Americans. However, with brilliant plotting, intriguing characterizations and a lot of heart, Lillie skillfully entices readers with a fantastic, heart stopping mystery while also highlighting the gross indignities and mistreatment suffered by a group of Indigenous people. Carve out enough time to read this one straight through as there's no way to put it down once you begin.
Vanessa Lillie's BLOOD SISTERS is an intense, eye opening, highly emotional suspense thriller delivered via the voice of Syd Walker, an archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Rhode Island. Her mission is to preserve Cherokee history, culture and land rights while identifying skeletal remains of victims of violence and returning them home to their people. Syd is disturbed when she receives a request to return to the town of Pincher, Oklahoma - a place she fled fifteen years prior following an attack that left her best friend dead and her sister Emma Lou damaged in a way that left her permanently scarred and floundering in a world of drugs and bad decisions. Syd’s haunted by her troubled past, but the discovery of a skull with Syd's old I.D. card lodged in its mouth makes it impossible for her to refuse the case. Leaving behind her wife who's just announced her pregnancy, Syd heads back to her small hometown with the ghost of her best friend Luna riding shotgun in her mind, stirring up old disturbing memories. A number of Indigenous women have gone missing in the area and upon arriving home, Syd learns her sister Emma is among them. As Syd starts investigating, it's soon clear she's rattling skeletons that are making people in power extremely nervous. Once again, decisions are forced upon her people without proper restitution, but this time Syd won't walk away until she gets justice for both the dead and the living. If they don't kill her first.
BLOOD SISTERS focuses on one native woman's efforts to find the missing and return them home - whether dead or alive. The plot line is intricately woven, unfolding at a steadily rising, tension ladened pace through vivid prose that transports readers to the dark, desolate countryside alongside Syd while charging all with solving the mysterious disappearances while exposing the secrets held within the raped land before time runs out. The author's utilization of a ghost's voice in Syd's head to deliver the story is genius, setting an eerie, spooky tone while leading readers to speculate if the person is a ghost or Syd is hallucinating. It's clear Syd is in a precarious state of mind and holding on by a thread as she battles both inner and outer demons determined to take her down, all of which adds to the dark, malevolent atmosphere of this riveting thriller. I love that just when you think you have it all figured out, the shocking climax knocks you off your feet.
Vanessa Lillie has rendered a story rich in the history of Native Americans, spotlighting their continued struggles with drug and environmental issues, forced abandonment of their homes and land without restitution and the suspicious disappearance of Indigenous women for whom no one seems to be searching. Indications are this is the first in a series of books to come featuring Syd - an Indigenous, lesbian woman - as the lead character which is exciting, albeit a rare occurrence in the book world. Through Lillie's brilliant, descriptive writing, Syd comes across as a spirited, yet vulnerable character with strong ethics battling her own demons - one who readers will have no problem respecting and/or feeling empathy for. BLOOD SISTERS is a dynamic, engrossing, heart touching suspense thriller that's highly addictive as well as eye-opening, and it's clear it comes straight from the heart of the author. Highly recommended to fans of mysteries and suspense thrillers as well as readers who enjoy beautifully written stories with a spotlight on critical issues and injustices rooted in history that have existed over the years.
What a jewel of a book! If you only read one book for Native American Heritage Month, make it this one! Many thanks to Berkley Publishing for an advanced readers copy and the tour invitation. My tour stop is on Nov. 21, 2023 at Cross My Heart Reviews. This review first published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine. All opinions expressed are my own.
Vanessa Lillie's BLOOD SISTERS is an intense, eye opening, highly emotional suspense thriller delivered via the voice of Syd Walker, an archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Rhode Island. Her mission is to preserve Cherokee history, culture and land rights while identifying skeletal remains of victims of violence and returning them home to their people. Syd is disturbed when she receives a request to return to the town of Pincher, Oklahoma - a place she fled fifteen years prior following an attack that left her best friend dead and her sister Emma Lou damaged in a way that left her permanently scarred and floundering in a world of drugs and bad decisions. Syd’s haunted by her troubled past, but the discovery of a skull with Syd's old I.D. card lodged in its mouth makes it impossible for her to refuse the case. Leaving behind her wife who's just announced her pregnancy, Syd heads back to her small hometown with the ghost of her best friend Luna riding shotgun in her mind, stirring up old disturbing memories. A number of Indigenous women have gone missing in the area and upon arriving home, Syd learns her sister Emma is among them. As Syd starts investigating, it's soon clear she's rattling skeletons that are making people in power extremely nervous. Once again, decisions are forced upon her people without proper restitution, but this time Syd won't walk away until she gets justice for both the dead and the living. If they don't kill her first.
BLOOD SISTERS focuses on one native woman's efforts to find the missing and return them home - whether dead or alive. The plot line is intricately woven, unfolding at a steadily rising, tension ladened pace through vivid prose that transports readers to the dark, desolate countryside alongside Syd while charging all with solving the mysterious disappearances while exposing the secrets held within the raped land before time runs out. The author's utilization of a ghost's voice in Syd's head to deliver the story is genius, setting an eerie, spooky tone while leading readers to speculate if the person is a ghost or Syd is hallucinating. It's clear Syd is in a precarious state of mind and holding on by a thread as she battles both inner and outer demons determined to take her down, all of which adds to the dark, malevolent atmosphere of this riveting thriller. I love that just when you think you have it all figured out, the shocking climax knocks you off your feet.
Vanessa Lillie has rendered a story rich in the history of Native Americans, spotlighting their continued struggles with drug and environmental issues, forced abandonment of their homes and land without restitution and the suspicious disappearance of Indigenous women for whom no one seems to be searching. Indications are this is the first in a series of books to come featuring Syd - an Indigenous, lesbian woman - as the lead character which is exciting, albeit a rare occurrence in the book world. Through Lillie's brilliant, descriptive writing, Syd comes across as a spirited, yet vulnerable character with strong ethics battling her own demons - one who readers will have no problem respecting and/or feeling empathy for. BLOOD SISTERS is a dynamic, engrossing, heart touching suspense thriller that's highly addictive as well as eye-opening, and it's clear it comes straight from the heart of the author. Highly recommended to fans of mysteries and suspense thrillers as well as readers who enjoy beautifully written stories with a spotlight on critical issues and injustices rooted in history that have existed over the years.
What a jewel of a book! If you only read one book for Native American Heritage Month, make it this one! Many thanks to Berkley Publishing for an advanced readers copy and the tour invitation. My tour stop is on Nov. 21, 2023 at Cross My Heart Reviews. This review first published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine. All opinions expressed are my own.
January 8, 2024
Syd Walker is an archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Rhode Island. She left her home in Oklahoma over a decade ago after a night of violence changed her life forever. Now her sister has disappeared, and Syd has been called home to investigate human remains found near the location of the earlier tragedy.
This was a dark and gritty mystery that I was invested in right away, though around the halfway point I started losing interest. Syd was a difficult, guilt-ridden character throughout most of the book, and her questionable actions endangered herself and others. The pacing was sluggish until the end when we're thrown some wild twists. BLOOD SISTERS was an ok read for me, but I struggled with the pacing and melodrama.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book. Opinions are my own.
This was a dark and gritty mystery that I was invested in right away, though around the halfway point I started losing interest. Syd was a difficult, guilt-ridden character throughout most of the book, and her questionable actions endangered herself and others. The pacing was sluggish until the end when we're thrown some wild twists. BLOOD SISTERS was an ok read for me, but I struggled with the pacing and melodrama.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book. Opinions are my own.
November 30, 2024
A slower-paced mystery/thriller tackling really important subject matter of the far too high numbers of missing and murdered indigenous woman. Honestly I thought this was great, though I suspect it might be a little slow to start for some readers.
Blood Sisters follows Syd Walker, a queer Cherokee archaeologist who works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. As a kid, she and her sister narrowly escaped death during a traumatic attack where their best friend lost her life. Now, her sister is missing and she is assigned to aid the investigation because it involves a skull as evidence. She leaves behind her pregnant wife to go home for the first time in years, determined to find and save her sister before it's too late.
We get a slower build as we get to know the setting and characters, but this eventually becomes rather pulse-pounding. It twists in unexpected ways and has a very satisfying ending. I would love to see this character re-appear in future books. One of the things that I loved about this approach is it deals with intensely heavy and traumatic subject matter without turning it into trauma porn. There is violence, misogyny, and abuse but we don't need a lot of graphic description to understand what has happened. And for women who have already experienced trauma, they don't need to relive it in that way. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this given the subject matter, but I thought it was excellent.
Blood Sisters follows Syd Walker, a queer Cherokee archaeologist who works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. As a kid, she and her sister narrowly escaped death during a traumatic attack where their best friend lost her life. Now, her sister is missing and she is assigned to aid the investigation because it involves a skull as evidence. She leaves behind her pregnant wife to go home for the first time in years, determined to find and save her sister before it's too late.
We get a slower build as we get to know the setting and characters, but this eventually becomes rather pulse-pounding. It twists in unexpected ways and has a very satisfying ending. I would love to see this character re-appear in future books. One of the things that I loved about this approach is it deals with intensely heavy and traumatic subject matter without turning it into trauma porn. There is violence, misogyny, and abuse but we don't need a lot of graphic description to understand what has happened. And for women who have already experienced trauma, they don't need to relive it in that way. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this given the subject matter, but I thought it was excellent.
March 13, 2024
I stayed up till 1am to finish this, so this won't be a very long review, I must sleep. Anyway, I enjoyed listening to the audio, and found the story interesting, even more so because it was inspired by real events.
Some might say Syd is an unlikable character, but I admire her determination to find her sister (by any means necessary). It was a bit unrealistic though, how she claims she's not a detective, but does a better job at finding missing people than actual detectives. But did that hinder my enjoyment? Nope.
I don't mind if thrillers are unrealistic, they just need to be fun!! There are some other scenes here that require you to suspend your disbelief, but it's worth it.
The ending hints at possible future books, for which I'll be seated. I'd really like to follow Syd on more adventures.
Some might say Syd is an unlikable character, but I admire her determination to find her sister (by any means necessary). It was a bit unrealistic though, how she claims she's not a detective, but does a better job at finding missing people than actual detectives. But did that hinder my enjoyment? Nope.
I don't mind if thrillers are unrealistic, they just need to be fun!! There are some other scenes here that require you to suspend your disbelief, but it's worth it.
The ending hints at possible future books, for which I'll be seated. I'd really like to follow Syd on more adventures.
October 3, 2023
Powerful and impactful book! My heart breaks for these women. This book honors the lost.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It’s not often that a book comes around that consumes you. With the astounding rates of disappearance and violence against indigenous Native American women, I wanted to read this book to hopefully learn more. Not only will the story blow you away, but the author has a raw talent that will suck you right into the storyline and not let you go until long after you turn that last page.
This author has developed an amazing story that combines multiple issues that the Native American deals with in their community —missing women, loss of land, loss of homes and businesses, and the loss of respect that is still prevalent today. Wrapped around an intricate story and plot, we are transported to Oklahoma in search of a missing sister and others.
Lillie shows us her passion and commitment to telling the story in a vivid, highly descriptive manner. Not knowing if you’re in the middle of a dream or inside the plot itself, we become one with the story and deeply feel what our main character is feeling. Fear, frustration, untrusting, frantic, fragile, emotional. It’s a roller coaster that pulls us deeper into the story.
Blood Sisters is fast-paced and ties together a mystery along with suspense and thriller aspects that captivate your senses. The story leaves you emotional and deeply touched as you follow the main character throughout the book.
Blood Sisters is definitely an experience and a story that will make you a bit angry and frustrated as you learn more and more about the Native American plight. Lillie has captured all of those emotions and laid them out into a stunning mystery that digs deep and becomes a story you certainly will not forget.
Powerful and impactful, my heart breaks for these women. This book faithfully honors the lost. Well done!
~~~~~~
* I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
* full review - https://amidlifewife.com/blood-sister...
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It’s not often that a book comes around that consumes you. With the astounding rates of disappearance and violence against indigenous Native American women, I wanted to read this book to hopefully learn more. Not only will the story blow you away, but the author has a raw talent that will suck you right into the storyline and not let you go until long after you turn that last page.
This author has developed an amazing story that combines multiple issues that the Native American deals with in their community —missing women, loss of land, loss of homes and businesses, and the loss of respect that is still prevalent today. Wrapped around an intricate story and plot, we are transported to Oklahoma in search of a missing sister and others.
Lillie shows us her passion and commitment to telling the story in a vivid, highly descriptive manner. Not knowing if you’re in the middle of a dream or inside the plot itself, we become one with the story and deeply feel what our main character is feeling. Fear, frustration, untrusting, frantic, fragile, emotional. It’s a roller coaster that pulls us deeper into the story.
Blood Sisters is fast-paced and ties together a mystery along with suspense and thriller aspects that captivate your senses. The story leaves you emotional and deeply touched as you follow the main character throughout the book.
Blood Sisters is definitely an experience and a story that will make you a bit angry and frustrated as you learn more and more about the Native American plight. Lillie has captured all of those emotions and laid them out into a stunning mystery that digs deep and becomes a story you certainly will not forget.
Powerful and impactful, my heart breaks for these women. This book faithfully honors the lost. Well done!
~~~~~~
* I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
* full review - https://amidlifewife.com/blood-sister...
December 9, 2024
not all heroes wear capes, sometimes they’re also archaeologists
November 1, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for allowing me to read this ARC!
Content Warning: violence, death, misogyny, racism, off-page sexual assault/rape.
Syd Walker is haunted. Fifteen years ago, a single night in her small Oklahoma hometown changed her life forever, driving her to move to Rhode Island and leave behind her family. Although she's sworn she'd never go back, Syd also works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs as an archeologist, and the past has come calling with the discovery of a skull on a piece of land that is near and dear to Syd's heart. When she returns to Picher, she's shocked to find out that her sister, Emma Lou, has vanished -- and begins to suspect that her sister's disappearance is linked to the skull and to that night so many years ago that Syd has been running from ever since.
An exploration of the murdered and missing Indigenous women epidemic, Blood Sisters is set in the small, now abandoned, town of Picher. In 2009, Picher was officially declared as uninhabitable, owing to its high level of toxicity due to waste from mines. Our heroine, Syd, grows up amongst the chat piles, playing with her friends until the day that her life changes forever. While the premise itself is interesting, and the featuring of Picher adds another layer of depth and intrigue, the execution simply did not live up to its potential.
Syd, our narrator, is one of the main problems. She's neither interesting nor likable enough to carry the novel on her back, and what's most jarring about her is that she constantly and consistently makes decisions that are simply unbelievable. In spite of the fact that she works as an archeologist for the BIA, and there seems to be the suggestion of her intelligence, she acts and operates in a way that can only be described as stupid. It's understandable that she values her own life very little, a common problem that arises with survivor's guilt, but she also seems to not think very much about the people in her life and how her actions put them into danger, too. You would think this would be something she'd be highly aware of, due to her past, but apparently, that's not the case.
There's a gimmick that doesn't work well in this book -- I won't spoil it, although it happens very early in the book and continues until the end. It somehow felt cheap, and as if the author was looking for a way to impart information that Syd couldn't know, making the eventual reveal of what's truly happening all the more eyeroll inducing. In a further exploration of what I mentioned with Syd's character, it's also worth noting that none of the other characters fare very well, either. All of them are flat and one-dimensional, and sometimes the characterization (particularly in regards to one character at the end of the book, which I can't go into without spoiling the entirety of the plot) feels like it's out of a bad action movie.
The plot completely and totally goes off the rails. It's melodramatic, it's unbelievable, and it makes you want to put the book down and not pick it back up again. It's hard to believe what you're reading. It becomes so convoluted, so much like the aforementioned B action movie, that it loses any interesting threads it's picked up along the way. I was actually quite shocked that Lillie went down the route that she did, and the second half of the book is where it really all went downhill for me -- ending up with only two stars.
I'm giving Blood Sisters two stars only because the first couple of chapters are pretty good, and I think the premise was unique and interesting, but it's not something I'd pick up to read twice.
Content Warning: violence, death, misogyny, racism, off-page sexual assault/rape.
Syd Walker is haunted. Fifteen years ago, a single night in her small Oklahoma hometown changed her life forever, driving her to move to Rhode Island and leave behind her family. Although she's sworn she'd never go back, Syd also works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs as an archeologist, and the past has come calling with the discovery of a skull on a piece of land that is near and dear to Syd's heart. When she returns to Picher, she's shocked to find out that her sister, Emma Lou, has vanished -- and begins to suspect that her sister's disappearance is linked to the skull and to that night so many years ago that Syd has been running from ever since.
An exploration of the murdered and missing Indigenous women epidemic, Blood Sisters is set in the small, now abandoned, town of Picher. In 2009, Picher was officially declared as uninhabitable, owing to its high level of toxicity due to waste from mines. Our heroine, Syd, grows up amongst the chat piles, playing with her friends until the day that her life changes forever. While the premise itself is interesting, and the featuring of Picher adds another layer of depth and intrigue, the execution simply did not live up to its potential.
Syd, our narrator, is one of the main problems. She's neither interesting nor likable enough to carry the novel on her back, and what's most jarring about her is that she constantly and consistently makes decisions that are simply unbelievable. In spite of the fact that she works as an archeologist for the BIA, and there seems to be the suggestion of her intelligence, she acts and operates in a way that can only be described as stupid. It's understandable that she values her own life very little, a common problem that arises with survivor's guilt, but she also seems to not think very much about the people in her life and how her actions put them into danger, too. You would think this would be something she'd be highly aware of, due to her past, but apparently, that's not the case.
There's a gimmick that doesn't work well in this book -- I won't spoil it, although it happens very early in the book and continues until the end. It somehow felt cheap, and as if the author was looking for a way to impart information that Syd couldn't know, making the eventual reveal of what's truly happening all the more eyeroll inducing. In a further exploration of what I mentioned with Syd's character, it's also worth noting that none of the other characters fare very well, either. All of them are flat and one-dimensional, and sometimes the characterization (particularly in regards to one character at the end of the book, which I can't go into without spoiling the entirety of the plot) feels like it's out of a bad action movie.
The plot completely and totally goes off the rails. It's melodramatic, it's unbelievable, and it makes you want to put the book down and not pick it back up again. It's hard to believe what you're reading. It becomes so convoluted, so much like the aforementioned B action movie, that it loses any interesting threads it's picked up along the way. I was actually quite shocked that Lillie went down the route that she did, and the second half of the book is where it really all went downhill for me -- ending up with only two stars.
I'm giving Blood Sisters two stars only because the first couple of chapters are pretty good, and I think the premise was unique and interesting, but it's not something I'd pick up to read twice.
October 15, 2023
"Your Gracie is incredible. She gets it from her momma."
"She gets it from who her mom had to become. Like those scars all over my body. I wouldn't heal them, even if I could. They are more me than my skin or hair or name. They have formed me. The scar tissue healed, but those discolored lines mean I am changed. That I will never be whole, but something else. Something stronger."
3 1/2 stars for this strong mystery novel with a grounding in Native history in Oklahoma.
As a Bureau of Indian Affairs archeologist, Syd Walker spends her time in Rhode Island with her spouse, Mal, trying to protect the land's indigenous past, even as she’s escaping her own. But when she receives a call from her hometown - where her sister, Emma Lou, has just gone missing - she's brought back to a fifteen-year-old tragedy she's tried hard to forget.
There's a lot to enjoy about this book. The family content and dynamics are strong, and a cast of strong and complex side characters (particularly Emma Lou's boyfriend) keep the book engaging. Emma Lou is a wonderful character and the exploration of addiction's impact on a family is sympathetic and dimensional. Blood Sisters is extremely grounded in histories of indigenous oppression in Ohio and interweaves an array of strong characters who convey different parts of that history. There is a complex history and legacy even in the lead character's role in the BIA, an organization which saw fit to exploit Native land it claimed to protect.
I found some of the plotting a bit confusing. Specifically, the logistics of a few of the earlier fight scenes felt incredibly confusing to the point of being incomprehensible. More notably, I really wished for a bit more of Mal specifically. The arc between Syd and Mal is fantastic, but felt incomplete in actual text.
Overall, though, this is one worth reading!
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October 25, 2023
When I say that I want more thrillers that are outside of the formulaic bored housewife or exploitative true crime junkies, Blood Sisters is EXACTLY what I mean.
This story follows Syd Walker, a white-presenting Cherokee woman (and lesbian!), who is an archaeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). After a skull is found near the crime scene of her youth, Syd decides to take the case and return home where she also learns that her sister Emma Lou has gone missing. Knowing that missing Native women often go ignored, Syd is determined to figure out the identity of the remains as well as find her sister…but to do it, she will be forced to reveal the incredibly dark secrets of her town and past.
Syd is an incredible protagonist and complex is putting it lightly. She is such a refreshing voice in this genre. Syd does not shy away from the brutal history and current affairs of Indigenous people especially the missing women that no one cares about. The recounts of her childhood trauma and generational trauma are heartbreaking, and the details are not spared.
One of the most important aspects of this story for me is that Vanessa Lillie is also a white presenting Cherokee woman who grew up in a similar Oklahoma town like Syd. It is evident from start to finish that Lillie poured her heart and soul into this story, and while this story may be fiction, this is still a very personal story. The author’s note is incredible.
I honestly can’t recommend this book enough. The MMIGW2S movement is of upmost importance and is not discussed enough. I also hope that this is not the last we see of Syd Walker.
Thank you Berkley Pub for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
This story follows Syd Walker, a white-presenting Cherokee woman (and lesbian!), who is an archaeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). After a skull is found near the crime scene of her youth, Syd decides to take the case and return home where she also learns that her sister Emma Lou has gone missing. Knowing that missing Native women often go ignored, Syd is determined to figure out the identity of the remains as well as find her sister…but to do it, she will be forced to reveal the incredibly dark secrets of her town and past.
Syd is an incredible protagonist and complex is putting it lightly. She is such a refreshing voice in this genre. Syd does not shy away from the brutal history and current affairs of Indigenous people especially the missing women that no one cares about. The recounts of her childhood trauma and generational trauma are heartbreaking, and the details are not spared.
One of the most important aspects of this story for me is that Vanessa Lillie is also a white presenting Cherokee woman who grew up in a similar Oklahoma town like Syd. It is evident from start to finish that Lillie poured her heart and soul into this story, and while this story may be fiction, this is still a very personal story. The author’s note is incredible.
I honestly can’t recommend this book enough. The MMIGW2S movement is of upmost importance and is not discussed enough. I also hope that this is not the last we see of Syd Walker.
Thank you Berkley Pub for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
September 4, 2025
Review soon!
October 21, 2023
I happily spent last week devouring BLOOD SISTERS by VANESSA LILLIE.
This book delivers on a twisty mystery + thrillery action, but the core of the story lies within sisterhood, family and the power of community. In the strength and determination of the women at the center of this book and the fight to expose past and present injustices.
One of my favorites plots is when a character has to make a reluctant return home and confront a past they have been trying to forget. Add in a found skull + a missing sister + a past mystery + a town who is resistant to anyone seeking the truth and I am all the way in.
Syd Walker, a Cherokee archaeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, lives in Rhode Island where she tries to protect the land’s indigenous past, and to escape her own. When she’s assigned to a case in Oklahoma she has no other choice but to confront a past that’s been haunting her for the past fifteen years.
A skull has been found on not far from the crime scene Syd narrowly escaped all those years ago. Not only does this skull has a tie to Syd, but she quickly learns that her younger sister has just gone missing. Intent on finding her sister & solving this cold case, Syd will stop at nothing to find the truth. Unsure of who she can trust and finding danger at every turn, this homecoming will change her life, and the lives of those around her, forever.
I’ve followed VANESSA LILLIE for many years and her personal passion and connection to this story infuses every page. This book is captivating and devastating as it explores the stories of missing Indigenous women. Inspired by and steeped in true events, I found it both eye opening and illuminating. And within the pain of this story, VANESSA LILLIE weaves in the power of love and hope, as some bonds can never be broken.
Huge thank you to Berkley & NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
This book delivers on a twisty mystery + thrillery action, but the core of the story lies within sisterhood, family and the power of community. In the strength and determination of the women at the center of this book and the fight to expose past and present injustices.
One of my favorites plots is when a character has to make a reluctant return home and confront a past they have been trying to forget. Add in a found skull + a missing sister + a past mystery + a town who is resistant to anyone seeking the truth and I am all the way in.
Syd Walker, a Cherokee archaeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, lives in Rhode Island where she tries to protect the land’s indigenous past, and to escape her own. When she’s assigned to a case in Oklahoma she has no other choice but to confront a past that’s been haunting her for the past fifteen years.
A skull has been found on not far from the crime scene Syd narrowly escaped all those years ago. Not only does this skull has a tie to Syd, but she quickly learns that her younger sister has just gone missing. Intent on finding her sister & solving this cold case, Syd will stop at nothing to find the truth. Unsure of who she can trust and finding danger at every turn, this homecoming will change her life, and the lives of those around her, forever.
I’ve followed VANESSA LILLIE for many years and her personal passion and connection to this story infuses every page. This book is captivating and devastating as it explores the stories of missing Indigenous women. Inspired by and steeped in true events, I found it both eye opening and illuminating. And within the pain of this story, VANESSA LILLIE weaves in the power of love and hope, as some bonds can never be broken.
Huge thank you to Berkley & NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
August 14, 2024
Read for a BookClub
Indigenous people of Oklahoma mystery that descended into too much violence for my taste. I enjoy mysteries that have more history and a little less guns and drugs. Too often the writing seemed to be overused story lines and I wanted it to be better crafted and more brain power than gun powder.
I liked best the history that was lightly woven in about the Trail of Tears, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the land allotments given to the tribes but then slowly taken back.
The mystery concerns missing women and girls on tribal lands and a Cherokee archeologist who gets involved when her sister goes missing. The archeologist has her own traumatic history that soon takes over the storyline. Good of a type. Lots of action, several different storylines and a well developed mystery that came together well in the end. I just felt it could have used more of the unique environment of the area and peoples to have made it something special.
Indigenous people of Oklahoma mystery that descended into too much violence for my taste. I enjoy mysteries that have more history and a little less guns and drugs. Too often the writing seemed to be overused story lines and I wanted it to be better crafted and more brain power than gun powder.
I liked best the history that was lightly woven in about the Trail of Tears, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the land allotments given to the tribes but then slowly taken back.
The mystery concerns missing women and girls on tribal lands and a Cherokee archeologist who gets involved when her sister goes missing. The archeologist has her own traumatic history that soon takes over the storyline. Good of a type. Lots of action, several different storylines and a well developed mystery that came together well in the end. I just felt it could have used more of the unique environment of the area and peoples to have made it something special.
December 5, 2024
5⭐️Set in 2008, Blood Sisters follows Syd Walker, an archeologist working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and living in Rhode Island with her wife, Mal.
When a skull is found at the scene of a 15-year-old crime that Syd is unfortunately very familiar with, she decides it’s time to finally return to Oklahoma and face her past, especially now that her own sister has disappeared without a trace.
This was such an amazing, gritty, addictive plot and I love a book that teaches me something. I learned so much about the MMIWG2S movement and I’m honestly embarrassed about how little I knew prior to this. Lillie does a phenomenal job exploring the stories of missing indigenous women and many current issues, as well as important historical details, of indigenous people.
The author’s note was really eye opening. It is evident that this story is personal for Lillie, a white-presenting Cherokee woman from Oklahoma living in Rhode Island. It’s also evident that her passion and dedication to the subject matter allowed her to tell one hell of a story.
I’m so excited to see more of Syd in future installments of this series! She’s such a complex and strong character that I really enjoyed getting to know. I read a lot of crime fiction and thrillers and Blood Sisters is a truly wonderful book that really strays from the typical cookie cutter formula of the genre.
A huge shoutout to @scaredstraightreads for putting this one on my radar. Make sure to go read his much more eloquently written review!
When a skull is found at the scene of a 15-year-old crime that Syd is unfortunately very familiar with, she decides it’s time to finally return to Oklahoma and face her past, especially now that her own sister has disappeared without a trace.
This was such an amazing, gritty, addictive plot and I love a book that teaches me something. I learned so much about the MMIWG2S movement and I’m honestly embarrassed about how little I knew prior to this. Lillie does a phenomenal job exploring the stories of missing indigenous women and many current issues, as well as important historical details, of indigenous people.
The author’s note was really eye opening. It is evident that this story is personal for Lillie, a white-presenting Cherokee woman from Oklahoma living in Rhode Island. It’s also evident that her passion and dedication to the subject matter allowed her to tell one hell of a story.
I’m so excited to see more of Syd in future installments of this series! She’s such a complex and strong character that I really enjoyed getting to know. I read a lot of crime fiction and thrillers and Blood Sisters is a truly wonderful book that really strays from the typical cookie cutter formula of the genre.
A huge shoutout to @scaredstraightreads for putting this one on my radar. Make sure to go read his much more eloquently written review!
May 8, 2024
There's so much good stuff in here but the story winds up reading like a standard thriller, one with weirdly low tension, considering everything that's going on.
It starts with a prologue in which three girls are at one of the girl's houses, watching "Full House," I believe, when men wearing masks break in and threaten them, looking for the man of the house. The oldest girl is thrown in a closet, she breaks out and saves her sister but can't save the girl who lives in the house. That girl winds up buried, along with the rest of her family, on the sisters' family land.
These girls are indigenous, living in Picher, OK. Their ancestors came to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears.
The older sister grows up to become an archaeologist with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Rhode Island and returns home for a case involving a skull found on her family land only to find that her younger sister, a former drug addict, has gone missing. Also, the government is offering very little money to buyout everyone's land due to problems from mining in the area.
From the start, the important topics that are lined up so neatly are:
-Violence against indigenous girls and women
-Cold cases, probably regarding indigenous girls and women
-The US government's treatment of indigenous people and the treaties that were and are brokered and broken
-Drugs and how they affect disenfranchised communities
-Land ownership and stewardship
The story ends up following a loner government worker who is not an actual agent taking on a side case that uncovers drug dealings and and making messes because she can't focus on her actual job, which was to find out who the skull on her family's long had belonged to. And I don't actually remember if we ever get that information. We find out who the Rhode Island skull belonged to, the one she was researching at the beginning of the story, but I don't remember if the Oklahoma skull was identified.
There are life threatening chases and a fashion party at a rich woman's house and women who are suspect looking trampy [insert eyeroll here]. It's ok, though, because one of those women is a good person. There are baby daddies who are bad but maybe not and parents who are ineffectual and little girls named Gracie who are portrayed in that way adults portray small children when they don't know how to write about small children.
The aforementioned important topics were dialoged about but never actually examined. It was all tell, no show, and that made for a clunky reading experience.
I had hoped for something rich and emotional but got another mass market thriller.
My search for a solid indigenous contemporary mystery written by an indigenous author, preferably a woman, continues.
It starts with a prologue in which three girls are at one of the girl's houses, watching "Full House," I believe, when men wearing masks break in and threaten them, looking for the man of the house. The oldest girl is thrown in a closet, she breaks out and saves her sister but can't save the girl who lives in the house. That girl winds up buried, along with the rest of her family, on the sisters' family land.
These girls are indigenous, living in Picher, OK. Their ancestors came to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears.
The older sister grows up to become an archaeologist with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Rhode Island and returns home for a case involving a skull found on her family land only to find that her younger sister, a former drug addict, has gone missing. Also, the government is offering very little money to buyout everyone's land due to problems from mining in the area.
From the start, the important topics that are lined up so neatly are:
-Violence against indigenous girls and women
-Cold cases, probably regarding indigenous girls and women
-The US government's treatment of indigenous people and the treaties that were and are brokered and broken
-Drugs and how they affect disenfranchised communities
-Land ownership and stewardship
The story ends up following a loner government worker who is not an actual agent taking on a side case that uncovers drug dealings and and making messes because she can't focus on her actual job, which was to find out who the skull on her family's long had belonged to. And I don't actually remember if we ever get that information. We find out who the Rhode Island skull belonged to, the one she was researching at the beginning of the story, but I don't remember if the Oklahoma skull was identified.
There are life threatening chases and a fashion party at a rich woman's house and women who are suspect looking trampy [insert eyeroll here]. It's ok, though, because one of those women is a good person. There are baby daddies who are bad but maybe not and parents who are ineffectual and little girls named Gracie who are portrayed in that way adults portray small children when they don't know how to write about small children.
The aforementioned important topics were dialoged about but never actually examined. It was all tell, no show, and that made for a clunky reading experience.
I had hoped for something rich and emotional but got another mass market thriller.
My search for a solid indigenous contemporary mystery written by an indigenous author, preferably a woman, continues.
October 10, 2023
this is my first from Lillie, and very coincidental for me to be reading this on Indigenous Peoples’ Day as this actually follows characters of Cherokee descent (as is Lillie herself, and the author’s note provides great context for the book’s setting). it’s a Karin Slaughter-esque gritty small town thriller following archeological expert Syd - but is really more about the search for her missing sister and uncovering the secrets of this rural Oklahoma town. well written and paced, with some good reveals and twists, definitely will be keeping the author on my radar!
November 3, 2023
Syd Walker is living in Rhode Island in 2008, working as an archeologist for the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs). While the BIA was initially responsible for great damage to America's Indigenous people, including forced assimilation and annexation of Native land, the Bureau was working to better serve these communities. Syd, who is Cherokee, left her homeland and her family in Oklahoma unable to deal with an abduction 15 years earlier, which resulted in the murder of her best friend Luna and Luna's parents. The BIA summons Syd back when a skull is found with a message clearly meant for her. Syd's sister, Emma Lou, has just gone missing, joining a list of other local Indigenous women who had disappeared from the area. The police treated the women as runaways with no serious investigations taken. Once Syd returns and searches for her sister, who had been battling addiction, she has to also face the trauma of her past and many well-hidden secrets.
Blood Sisters is an intense, suspenseful mystery. Author Vanessa Lillie has created a complex character in Syd Walker, who has been battling her own demons. This is a heartbreaking story as although it is fiction, it tells the true history of the terrible and unjust treatment of Indigenous communities. The injustices done by the very people whose jobs it was to protect our Native people is beyond disturbing. In addition to a compelling story, it will surely tell you more than you knew before about American history.
Many thanks to Berkley Publishing for an advance copy of this engaging and eye-opening book.
Rated 4.25 stars.
Review posted on MicheleReader.com.
Blood Sisters is an intense, suspenseful mystery. Author Vanessa Lillie has created a complex character in Syd Walker, who has been battling her own demons. This is a heartbreaking story as although it is fiction, it tells the true history of the terrible and unjust treatment of Indigenous communities. The injustices done by the very people whose jobs it was to protect our Native people is beyond disturbing. In addition to a compelling story, it will surely tell you more than you knew before about American history.
Many thanks to Berkley Publishing for an advance copy of this engaging and eye-opening book.
Rated 4.25 stars.
Review posted on MicheleReader.com.
November 28, 2023
I love every book Vanessa has ever written, though as her co-author I may be a little biased. ;) BLOOD SISTERS easily made my top 5 for the month of October; for the full list, head to https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy06HHSsFCU
November 20, 2023
I really liked how Lillie used this book to educate readers on Indigenous traditions and current issues. However, the plot was just so off the wall that it made me cringe.
October 22, 2023
Syd Walker is a Cherokee archaeologist who works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. One day she gets a call to look into the case of two missing girls- one of which being her historically troubled sister, Emma Lou. Suddenly, Syd finds herself thrown back into a world she had in large part, distanced herself from over the years.
The return to her roots also brings up horrors she endured growing up. Fifteen years prior, she was the near victim of a violent attack on her home. This is part of the reason Syd works in her chosen profession, to help fight for the many injustices performed against voiceless, Native American women.
But the more Syd digs into the mystery of the missing women in the present, the deeper she realizes these atrocities go. Now the search is on to not only find her sister, but to find long buried truths in this forgotten Oklahoma town.
Blood Sisters was a mystery that honed in on something I don’t really read a lot about- the horrible treatment of indigenous people, women in particular. It also matches with the story’s suggestion that these women‘s plights often go unnoticed. This aspect of the story, and the important afterword included at the book’s conclusion, were the aspects that left the strongest impact.
However, I found myself drifting in and out of focus when I was listening to the story itself. Through no fault of the narration, I was a little confused at times which timeline we were in. Maybe this would have been less confusing if I read and didn’t listen to the story, but nonetheless I felt more disconnected than I hoped while listening.
Blood Sisters is getting rave reviews though, so this might just be a me issue. So if you like under the radar mysteries with an important societal subtext, you might want to give Blood Sisters a try and decide for yourself.
The return to her roots also brings up horrors she endured growing up. Fifteen years prior, she was the near victim of a violent attack on her home. This is part of the reason Syd works in her chosen profession, to help fight for the many injustices performed against voiceless, Native American women.
But the more Syd digs into the mystery of the missing women in the present, the deeper she realizes these atrocities go. Now the search is on to not only find her sister, but to find long buried truths in this forgotten Oklahoma town.
Blood Sisters was a mystery that honed in on something I don’t really read a lot about- the horrible treatment of indigenous people, women in particular. It also matches with the story’s suggestion that these women‘s plights often go unnoticed. This aspect of the story, and the important afterword included at the book’s conclusion, were the aspects that left the strongest impact.
However, I found myself drifting in and out of focus when I was listening to the story itself. Through no fault of the narration, I was a little confused at times which timeline we were in. Maybe this would have been less confusing if I read and didn’t listen to the story, but nonetheless I felt more disconnected than I hoped while listening.
Blood Sisters is getting rave reviews though, so this might just be a me issue. So if you like under the radar mysteries with an important societal subtext, you might want to give Blood Sisters a try and decide for yourself.
November 17, 2023
WOW. Vanessa Lillie has written a compelling, fast-paced, brutally heartbreaking story rooted in the real-life horror of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2Spirit people -- and how their deaths and disappearances are ignored, under-investigated, and covered up by authorities. I absolutely loved this book and hope it helps enlighten people who were previously unaware of how pervasive the violence against Indigenous people has been since the first colonizers arrived, and how women, girls, and 2S continue to bear the brunt of this violence.
This book is a goddamn reckoning, and Lillie's voice is powerful - perfectly balancing action-packed thrills, fury, and deeply emotional moments of connection.
I also just realized Blood Sisters is the first in a planned series, and I CANNOT WAIT to see what Lillie does next. Five hundred stars and one of my favorite books of the year.
* thank you to Berkley for the NetGalley review copy. BLOOD SISTERS published October 31.
This book is a goddamn reckoning, and Lillie's voice is powerful - perfectly balancing action-packed thrills, fury, and deeply emotional moments of connection.
I also just realized Blood Sisters is the first in a planned series, and I CANNOT WAIT to see what Lillie does next. Five hundred stars and one of my favorite books of the year.
* thank you to Berkley for the NetGalley review copy. BLOOD SISTERS published October 31.
October 31, 2023
This was a bit of a twisted story. I thought it starts out interesting but it kinda drags in the middle. It finally picks up again and finishes with a bang. There’s some surprises along the way that I wasn’t expecting. I did think it was well written but it turned out a bit different from what I was expecting.
March 2, 2024
I LOVE reading books based on a different perspective than my own. I really enjoyed this, although got a little confused towards the end listening to the audiobook switching between the different characters' perspectives. But I always love new (to me) storylines, so I enjoyed this one. (Intense subject matter, though.)
December 19, 2023
I’m not sure if I was most intrigued by her work as an archeologist, the conflicting idea of a Cherokee woman work for Indian Affairs, the fictional mystery plot mirroring real life of the missing Native American women, or, hey, why not all of it rolled into one. Let’s just say when Blood Sisters was brought to my notice, I pounced on it.
Blood Sisters was never going to be a light and easy read with the sad history and present day circumstances of Syd’s Cherokee people which Vanessa Lillie handled deftly and carefully. As this was fiction, I appreciated that she not only wrote a compelling backdrop for setting and characters, but the mystery was one that sucked me in completely and had me vested since it involved Syd’s own past, her good friend’s death, and current day situation with her sister.
Syd got a reprieve of sorts from the life she left behind with a life involving wife and work and place that allowed her to block out the past, but it is soon obvious when Syd returns home that the past was unsettled and merely waiting for her to resolve it.
It was an interesting juxtaposition and point of extra conflict that Syd chose to work for Bureau of Indian Affairs since her people have never had a good relationship with this government organization. In a ‘change it from within’ campaign, Syd’s got an uphill battle that she was starting to make headway with out with the Narragansett tribe in Rhode Island, but this cuts no ice with her own folks back in Oklahoma when she goes home after years away when her sister goes missing and a skull is found on a past, familiar crime scene. Her home folks see Syd as a sellout.
There is no gentle reunion for her and the situation is volatile with all the corruption within the local government and the flagrant drug movers, but also the people who had no love for Syd. The tension was taunt and she had to work in a vicarious position. I do love the setup of a small community roiling with secrets.
I won’t say this was a fun and entertaining book because it wasn’t and it rubbed my emotions and mind raw in places when it gets real about the Native American struggles, but it was compelling and I was vested in Syd’s story and investigation. I have known some of the backdrop, but learned even more while appreciating a solid mystery with dark turns and a riveting resolution.
I rec'd an eARC via NetGalley to read in exchange for an honest review.
My full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer on Nov 29th.
Blood Sisters was never going to be a light and easy read with the sad history and present day circumstances of Syd’s Cherokee people which Vanessa Lillie handled deftly and carefully. As this was fiction, I appreciated that she not only wrote a compelling backdrop for setting and characters, but the mystery was one that sucked me in completely and had me vested since it involved Syd’s own past, her good friend’s death, and current day situation with her sister.
Syd got a reprieve of sorts from the life she left behind with a life involving wife and work and place that allowed her to block out the past, but it is soon obvious when Syd returns home that the past was unsettled and merely waiting for her to resolve it.
It was an interesting juxtaposition and point of extra conflict that Syd chose to work for Bureau of Indian Affairs since her people have never had a good relationship with this government organization. In a ‘change it from within’ campaign, Syd’s got an uphill battle that she was starting to make headway with out with the Narragansett tribe in Rhode Island, but this cuts no ice with her own folks back in Oklahoma when she goes home after years away when her sister goes missing and a skull is found on a past, familiar crime scene. Her home folks see Syd as a sellout.
There is no gentle reunion for her and the situation is volatile with all the corruption within the local government and the flagrant drug movers, but also the people who had no love for Syd. The tension was taunt and she had to work in a vicarious position. I do love the setup of a small community roiling with secrets.
I won’t say this was a fun and entertaining book because it wasn’t and it rubbed my emotions and mind raw in places when it gets real about the Native American struggles, but it was compelling and I was vested in Syd’s story and investigation. I have known some of the backdrop, but learned even more while appreciating a solid mystery with dark turns and a riveting resolution.
I rec'd an eARC via NetGalley to read in exchange for an honest review.
My full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer on Nov 29th.
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