By K. A. Cobell
Heartdrum / HarperCollins, 2024
402 pages
978-0-06-331867-0
Ages 14-18
Four Blackfeet teens relate their versions of events following the murder of their friend, Samantha, during an Indian Days ceremony. The community is already on edge after the disappearance of Loren’s sister, Rayanne, a few weeks prior; when Rayanne’s body is found, it’s clear that her and Samantha’s murders are connected. Mara, who is new to the reservation, befriends and helps Loren investigate the crimes. They’re unsure whether they can trust Eli and Brody, the other two teens who’d been in a group photo with Samantha just prior to her death. While the detectives on the case suspect drugs were involved, Loren is doubtful; Rayanne saw their mother’s life destroyed by addiction. Texts on Rayanne’s phone suggest she’d been romantically involved with Eli, who is devoted to caring for his younger sister and is keeping a major family secret of his own. And when Eli’s close friend Brody’s older brother Jason becomes a suspect in the case, Brody puts his own future at risk to help prove Jason’s innocence. Interspersed among the four teens’ timestamped narratives are short chapters by an unknown narrator who is intensely interested in the case. All of the main players in this intriguing crime thriller are well developed and credible; their narratives reveal their strengths as well as the struggles they face as individuals and as part of a community dealing with the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis. ©2024 Cooperative Children’s Book Center