Vanessa Lillie's Blood Sisters is a powerful and compelling mystery, featuring Syd Walker, a BIA archaeologist who finds herself enmeshed in both a case and its connections to her currently missing sister and the murder of her best friend while in their teens. Set in 2008, we weren't talking about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in the same way we are now, and this looks at the insidious, pervasive issue and the other ways law enforcement and government fail and neglect Native individuals and communities. This book has some truly breakneck moments of action, and if you're like me, you'll be reading the last 50 or so heart pounding pages barely breathing.

3.5 Stars
Syd, an archaeologist working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is sent to her hometown to investigate after a scull is found at the site where she and her sister were nearly killed. Returning home stirs up all kinds of emotions for Syd, still being haunted by the events of the past. It’s also difficult since she hasn’t kept close ties with her family.

When Syd arrives, she discovers her sister, Emmy Lou, is missing, and her investigation into the scull gets put on the back burner as she races to find her.

Blood Sisters was an engrossing thriller with some twists and action, but I struggled with Syd and her TSTL decisions. Constantly going off half-cocked into dangerous situations with no plan, backup, or weapons was frustrating.

I did appreciate how the author featured real-life struggles and injustices affecting Native people, both currently and throughout history.

Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie is out now! Massive thanks to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed

Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie is a phenomenally chilling mystery about a Cherokee archeologist that works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs as she returns home to Oklahoma after the disappearance of two women, one who happens to be her sister.
The haunting of her past meet the horrors of her present for one hair-raising, terror-filled mystery. This is such a well-written story that is extremely powerful & important. The author did an incredible job of creating a foreboding atmosphere throughout the story.

Blood Sisters is perfect for those looking for…
🖤Action-Paced Mystery
🖤Traumatic Past Crimes
🖤Ghosts
🖤Unique & Powerful Story
🖤Indigenous Representation

I read this story in one day. This is unlike anything I’ve read before & exactly what the mystery genre needs. The author wrote a very well researched novel that showcased the horrific history of especially Indigenous women. It weaves important fact with realistic fiction for one unforgettable story. I really appreciated learning more about the MMIWG2S movement. The author’s note was incredible. I loved the scientific & archeologist aspects to the novel as well. I found them very fascinating.

I sincerely hope this author writes more stories.

If you are looking for a fast-paced, action-packed & powerful mystery, I highly recommend Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie!


Content Warnings: This book mentions &/or contains murder, kidnapping, abuse & gore.

I’ve posted to Amazon & I am waiting for my link to go live. I will add it once it does!

Writing is a craft and sometimes that writing is so smooth and so immersing that you actually forget you are reading. Vanessa Lillie has accomplished this with Blood Sisters. I felt like I was alongside Syd for this journey. Not only is this a mystery that is twisty but there is so much needed info about the Indigenous women who need a voice. Blood Sisters is a visceral, must read book.

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.

I do my best to support the concept of Own Voices, and I was glad to see that the author of this book is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. In reading the Author’s Note at the end, it was clear that she knows the setting and circumstances she wrote about intimately.

I loved getting to know Syd and her family and friends in this novel. It was a page-turner while at the same time there were a lot of things that were difficult to read. There’s a lot of direct violence and action, in addition to the generational and colonial violence the characters encounter. This is an approachable book for readers of popular fiction who want to learn more about the experience of a group of Indigenous people as well as the sad truth of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am so thankful to Berkley Pub, Vanessa Lillie, Netgalley, and PRH Audio for granting me advanced digital and audio access to this one before it hits shelves on October 31. I realize that that was yesterday, but I've been meaning to get to my reviews on Netgalley, so here's my honest review for this one.

I am ALL about highlighting and elevating indigenous stories whenever I can, but this one didn't hit well with me. I recognize my privilege for being cast aside by the violence and I should have held a better attitude towards finishing this one, but I truly struggled. I apologize.

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.

I get it now …

I saw everyone swoon over Blood Sisters today and I realized I was missing out on one heck of a big deal.

What took me so long?

What’s wrong with me?

That’s rhetorical, don’t answer.

Enough about me, let’s talk about this slam dunk, straight shooting, mind bending, 5 star read.

Did you get all that?

I can do it again…

Vanessa Lillie, I don’t know where you came from but I am so happy you are here.

This book right here is literary gold. There is not one person who will ever disagree with me on that statement and if they dare try… they are lying .

This book is…

Twisted
Thrilling
Suspenseful

And you have to have it .

Check out this teaser :

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.

BLOOD SISTERS tells a tale of Native Americans who are often overlooked. Oppression, exploitation, drugs, poverty, cultural history and tradition, trauma, murder, and kidnapping are all touched on here to great effect. It is a heavy mystery but well worth the read.

Bureau of Indian Affairs archeologist Syd has done her best to put trauma from 15 years ago behind her. But when a very personal case takes her back to her home town, she finds herself smack in the middle where her past and present collide.

I really enjoyed learning about an area of Oklahoma that I knew little about. The setting is stark and based on a real place and circumstance. The characters are complex, and the story is layered with plenty of twists and turns. I am not usually a great fan of first person present tense writing, but here it adds tension and helps move the story along. It is compelling from the first sentence, but it really gets interesting about 60% into the story.

I recommend BLOOD SISTERS to any thriller fan looking for a fresh perspective and protagonist.

You do not want to sleep on this story. I really enjoyed it, about a woman who returns home, when a skull is unearthed close by where a muuuurder occurred years ago. Being home brings up a lot of unresolved issues, particularly with family and the community at large. The only one who seems to be in her corner is Rayna, who, if I was ever in a fight, I would want in my corner. Rayna's the best!

The first half of the story builds around her return and why it's so triggering to be back. But, there is also an unsettling feeling that any minute now, the other shoe is going to drop. I know it's a cliche, but the best way to describe reading this book is like being on a rollercoaster. The first half was the incline, you feel unsettled, but also feeling okay. Let me know when you get 50% in because it drops and it does not let go until the very last page. I am a sucker for a good car chase and there were plenty. The twists and major gotcha moments keep coming, and then... you're done. And, you're sad that you're done because the ride was so much fun! I might even hop back on again.

Also, be sure to read the author’s note!

I listened to this one and I swear before I knew it the book was over! I got totally caught up in the story! This reminded me a bit of the show #Reservationdogs but with a more serious tone.
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Syd is an archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She gets a call to investigate two missing one women, and one is the women is her sister. Syd returns to the home she swore to never return to after the night that haunts her dreams. She needs to face that traumatizing night head on as her past meets her present.
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Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads @prhaudio and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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Maybe a 4.5? I ended up really liking this! I had a tiny bit of a hard time getting into it, but then I was quite intrigued and wanted to see where this story was going to go. This is a twisty mystery with some family drama and small town secrets. On top of everything else, this book gives a voice to the missing indigenous people, and women specifically, that have suffered and continue to suffer so many injustices at the hands of the U.S. government and otherwise. Lillie does a beautiful job weaving in indigenous culture throughout this story, giving a voice to people that have been silenced for waaaaay too long. My only issues with this one are that a) I wasn’t as connected as I wanted to be to the characters. Like I wanted to FEEL it all more. And b) there is A LOT going on so some things are more successful than others. I had to rewind audio and think through some stuff a few times. But overall, I would definitely recommend this one to mystery lovers. I think it’s going to stick with me for a long time.

The first chapters of Blood Sisters introduce the main character, Syd Walker, an archaeologist for the BIA. Before reading Blood Sisters, I was unaware that the United States had an organization known as the Bureau of Indian Affairs or BIA. Blood Sisters quickly unveiled my disparity of knowledge regarding Native American history.

Within the first few moments of the story, readers come to understand that Syd’s job is to protect the history of indigenous people while taking on the role of both investigator and archaeologist in Rhode Island.

About 10 percent into the book, the storyline changes, and Syd returns to her hometown in Oklahoma to help identify a newly discovered skull. It’s clear that Syd’s past is somehow intertwined with this cold case, and the matter becomes even more complicated with Syd’s sister’s disappearance. The story becomes much more character-driven as we’re introduced to Syd’s family and the insidiousness that her Cherokee neighbors cope with daily.

Blood Sisters changed pacing often. It sometimes slowed to describe necessary background information and the town's history. At other times, the pacing quickened as pieces of the various mysteries began to come together. I know that this was necessary to the story, but I did wish the pacing had been a bit faster.

I liked Syd Walker’s character, and I appreciated the unique perspective Vanessa Lillie shared through her own Cherokee upbringing. This one is a work of fiction rooted in history. Not only is the historical representation of oppression and violence towards indigenous people authentically represented, but the crime Blood Sisters revolves around was inspired by a tragic 2008 cold case that occurred in Vanessa Lillie’s hometown. Blood Sisters is a well-written mystery, and I will be looking for more from Vanessa Lillie in the future.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for an advanced reader’s copy. All opinions are my own.

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.

It's an engaging and eye-opening book.

Rated 4.25 stars.

At times moody, introspective, and poignant, Vanessa Lillie’s Blood Sisters explores the ties that bind and the trauma that can divide. Set in the background of 2008, this story delves into the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples continually being displaced from their land, as well as the disappearance of Indigenous women.

Told mostly from the perspective of Syd, and interspersed with chapters from “Agilvgi/Sister” Blood Sisters shows readers what happens when a traumatic event serves as a nexus point for everything that comes after. Whether it's Luna’s tragic death, Syd’s disconnectedness from her family, or Emma Lou’s addiction and disappearance, the stories of the Sisters reel readers in and leave them captivated (and guessing) until the very end.

As a reader, I appreciated the historical context of Indigenous people and the state of Oklahoma, as well as the centering of the very real horror of missing and unalived Indigenous women. This is also a story about family, and what it means to different individuals throughout the progression of the novel. What do you excuse? What do you expose? And what happens when you feel like you can’t quite trust the people closest to you?

Overall, this was an enthralling read with an ending that felt satisfying, if not slightly optimistic. But I was completely okay with that, given all of the turmoil that came before.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Vanessa Lillie had me on the edge of my seat with this gritty thriller. The horrors that Native American women face every day need to be highlighted more.

What a great mystery thriller. Right from the start it is obvious it is a personal story. It is a known fact, that the there are numbers of missing indigenous women. Their stories part of a statistic, tat usually go forgotten. And in this story, the author is breaking the status quo. The author’s note in the end explains a lot why she chose to tell this story - a must listen.

Vanessa Lillie tells a story of an archeologist that has to go back to her home town and figure out who’s remains have been found. She doesn’t want the girl to be a statistic. And there’s another mystery - her own blood sister is missing. Not only family bond, but a certain responsibility drives Syd Walker to find her, and uncover her town’s secrets.

There are bonds and traditions, pain and generational trauma that is poured onto the pages of this story. It kept me engaged and entertained, as well as broke me a little with how much there is untold still in the indigenous history.

Definitely a thriller to be on the look out for, when it releases.

Thank you to the publisher and PRH for my review copy. All opinions are my own.

Syd left the trauma of her Oklahoma hometown behind years ago, and now she’s an archaeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Rhode Island. When the discovery of a skull back in Oklahoma coincides with the disappearance of Syd’s sister, she can’t let either mystery go uninvestigated. She puts her archaeological skills to the test — and uncovers much larger questions about a pattern of missing Indigenous women and girls.

This Oklahoma noir mystery is so wonderfully atmospheric and haunting. Sydney is an excellent protagonist with a unique vantage point, and I loved rooting for her. I was completely immersed in the story from the start, and it kept me guessing through the end. I really hope this is the start to a series, because I need to find out what happens to Syd next!

In Blood Sisters, Vanessa Lillie has crafted a compelling story rooted in the ongoing tragedy of missing indigenous women that's led by an emotionally fragile, flawed heroine. Her Oklahoma setting-- an area wrecked by endless mining for every scrap of mineral wealth it contains-- is atmospheric and unsettling. It is a land that has tainted the lives of everyone who lives there.

The search for the person responsible for these missing indigenous women is fast-paced and grabs a reader's attention, and the history of the Bureau of Indian Affairs that the author weaves into the story adds depth and understanding to the behavior of the residents, but the main focus of the entire book is Syd Walker, who as a young girl survived a murderous night and has been running away from it ever since.

I liked the fact that archaeologist Syd Walker has focused her career on indigenous history and that she works hard to support projects that make a brighter future possible for Native people. Her Cherokee heritage and her experiences in Oklahoma have shown her how important this is. However, I could never warm up to Syd, perhaps because she's too flawed. Her survivor's guilt is crippling. Her emotions are raw and conflicted. She can't understand why her family doesn't welcome her back with open arms. (She escaped all the gossipmongers while her family has had to live with them and their pointing fingers and whispers for the past fifteen years.) Her wife back in Rhode Island is pregnant, and Syd spends a great deal of time worrying about whether or not she's fit to be a parent. She also doesn't pay attention to good advice and tends to shoot off her mouth and run off half-cocked. Characters who put themselves in danger repeatedly aren't among my favorites. To put it mildly, her angst just wore me out.

If insecure, guilt-riddled main characters are your cup of tea, you should enjoy Blood Sisters. I did enjoy the story, but I do have to admit that I wanted to make Syd stay in her room most of the time while I did my own investigating.