Kathleen Grissom has followed her bestselling, ,The Kitchen House, with another outstanding novel of historical importance. The protagonist, who was inspired by the life of the real Crow Mary, was an indigenous woman who lived in late 19 th century Montana. She married a White fur trader, leaving her family and forging a new life with him. She performed an heroic act for which she has been recognized. Ms Grissom, fascinated with the life of Crow Mary, spent many years researching this story and has written a heartfelt and memorable account of an indomitable woman. Fans of historical fiction will surely add this book to their permanent collection.

I loved this book that tells Crow Mary’s story of her courage and fortitude to take care of her friends. This was a well written narrative and it was hard to put down.

Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom is an excellent historical fiction that takes a look at a fascinating woman of indigenous lineage during the 1800s.

This is just a beautiful, poignant, sobering, and well-researched novel that brings to light a woman of the Crow culture in North America in the 1800s and all that she experiences and fights through during this massively-changing time.

Through her life, we can see a woman fighting for her life, her love, her family, her culture, and her true identity.

The author’s research and descriptions of not only the people and cultures m, but also of the landscapes and lands, us just stunning.

A winner for sure.


5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Atria for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR, Bookbub, Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 6/6/23 per publisher request.

As a fan of Kathleen Grissom's previous novels, The Kitchen House, and Glory Over Everything, I eagerly anticipated this new novel, Mary Crow. With hopes that it would be as good as her previous books, I began reading the story. I was not disappointed. Mary Crow is a well-researched historical fiction novel that delves deep into the Crow culture. The story is presented in a way that is both factual and engaging, without seeming at all like a lesson. The characters are well-developed and the setting is so well-described that I found myself thinking of it as if I'd watched it instead of reading it. Beautifully written, deeply moving, and realistic in so many ways. Loved this one! Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review. If you love historical fiction, put this one on your to-read list. You will not be disappointed.

This quickly proved to be a compelling read that was a challenge to put down. Grissom has done fantastic work helping bring to life the title character and events that this book was based upon. I especially appreciated the enthusiastic and thorough research that she poured into her efforts, which included heavy collaboration with Crow Mary’s descendants and indigenous experts. The resulting depths to which I was able to learn about Crow culture alone made this book very well worth it. But lucky me, that wasn’t all that I was able to enjoy here. The entire setting was wonderfully vivid and alive, and I was kept deeply and happily immersed within it the whole while.

For lovers of historical fiction, this is definitely one to put onto the “to-read” list at first opportunity.