One Book, One Minnesota Selection for Summer 2021
Introducing Cash Blackbear, a young Ojibwe woman whose visions and grit help solve a brutal murder in this award-winning debut.
1970s, Red River Valley between North Dakota and Minnesota: Renee “Cash” Blackbear is 19 years old and tough as nails. She lives in Fargo, North Dakota, where she drives truck for local farmers, drinks beer, plays pool, and helps solve criminal investigations through the power of her visions. She has one friend, Sheriff Wheaton, her guardian, who helped her out of the broken foster care system.
One Saturday morning, Sheriff Wheaton is called to investigate a pile of rags in a field and finds the body of an Indian man. When Cash dreams about the dead man’s weathered house on the Red Lake Reservation, she knows that’s the place to start looking for answers. Together, Cash and Wheaton work to solve a murder that stretches across cultures in a rural community traumatized by racism, genocide, and oppression.
Publisher : Soho Crime (5 April 2022)
Language : English
Paperback : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 1641293764
ISBN-13 : 978-1641293761
Item Weight : 1 kg 50 g
Dimensions : 14 x 2.08 x 20.9 cm
Country of Origin : India
by roxann
Good story. Fast read. More of a short story than novel. Gave some insight to Indian culture. Easy to put down and put pick up.later.without having to ‘re-read
by Omnimancer
the writing is spare, direct, simple. The character of the resourceful and self reliant Cash is revealed as a thoughtful, late coming of age tale as she struggles to become a person of consequence and mission under the very loose guidance of the Sheriff.I read it in one sitting, and it cost me a lot of sleep since I started it near midnight to just read a chapter or two.Having worked among First Nations in Canada, just over the border, I can tell you the hostility and attitudes these storybook characters endure, are real.
by Roq
This was an excellent introduction to the main protagonist, Cash. Packing a lot of trauma from her childhood, the bits and pieces we do learn left me so angry on Cashâs behalf. The mystery takes a bit of a step back to her personal history, but I found it highly interesting and compelling. Will start with the second volume right away.
by Electra
1970 – la guerre au Vietnam fait rage mais ici, au fin fond du Minnesota, elle est reléguée d’ailleurs la saison des récoltes. L’état emploie des milliers d’Indiens pour les récoltes. Lorsque l’un d’eux, originaire d’une des Réserves est retrouvé mort au bord de la route, Cash se sent personnellement concernée. Jeune femme Indienne, Cash gagne sa vie comme ouvrière agricole et n’a qu’un seul ami, le shérif Wheaton chargé de l’enquête. Celui-ci veille sur elle depuis que toute petite, il l’a extraite du véhicule accidenté, conduit par sa mère saoule. Placée en famille d’accueil, Cash les a écumées – rapidement employée comme petite main, mal nourrie, jamais intégrée à la famille, Cash réussit à gagner sa vie dès l’âge de treize ans. Elle a pris un appartement et à dix-neuf ans, son seul plaisir se résume aux parties de billard et aux concours locaux. Mais la mort de cet homme, père de famille, ne semble intéresser personne. Que vaut un Indien ? Cash ne supporte plus ce racisme institutionnalisé et elle décide de mener l’enquête. Un roman très fort, sans compassion, l’auteur ne s’en cache pas : Cash fonce et tant pis pour vos oreilles sensibles. Ici l’homme blanc s’en prend plein la figure, mais quand on voit ce que doivent endurer tous les jours les Indiens on comprend cette rage intérieure. Un polar envoutant.
by jhbandcats
I wanted to like this more because the story background interested me, but it didnât quite grab me and I kept getting distracted. I wanted more about Cashâs life and wanted to know more about Wheaton. Iâm guessing those will be explored in the next books – I saw that the second in the series has Cashâs brother coming back.I donât know the geography of ND and MN around the Red River and I think Iâd have enjoyed this more if I had. Cash is always driving to someplace and then back to another place and then off to yet another, etc, but that didnât mean anything to me so it detracted from the story.She frequents bars to drink and play pool but I didnât get the significance of the different bars. I understood that one was more upscale, one had strippers, one was her regular spot, and a few were just places she stopped by, but I didnât get why the story needed so many. I also thought it was odd that the only Indian whoâs even remotely in her circle is Long Braids.I did like the way the FBI guys were practically faceless automatons. They kept running into her but their racism blinded them to her individuality so they never really recognized her. And I thought the descriptions of prejudice / entitlement were especially good. I felt angry on Cashâs behalf just reading about the way she, as an Indian, was treated. Wheaton – not even the occasional boyfriend Jim – was the only one who saw her as a real person.