Sinister Graves

Cash Blackbear, Book 3

By: Marcie R. Rendon

Narrated by: Isabella Star LaBlanc

Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in 1970s Minnesota on the White Earth Reservation, Pinckley Prize-winner Marcie R. Rendon’s gripping new mystery follows Cash Blackbear, a young Ojibwe woman, as she attempts to discover the truth about the disappearances of Native girls and their newborns.

A snowmelt has sent floodwaters down to the fields of the Red River Valley, dragging the body of an unidentified Native woman into the town of Ada. The only evidence the medical examiner recovers is a torn piece of paper inside her bra: a hymnal written in English and Ojibwe.

Cash Blackbear, a 19-year-old Ojibwe woman, sometimes helps Sheriff Wheaton, her guardian, on his investigations. Now she knows her search for justice for this anonymous victim will take her to the White Earth Reservation, a place she once called home.

When Cash happens upon two small graves in the yard of a rural, “speak-in-tongues kinda church,” Cash is pulled into the lives of the malevolent pastor and his troubled wife while yet another Native woman dies in a mysterious manner.

©2022 Marcie R. Rendon (P)2022 Recorded Books

First rate take of murder

Ive been listening to several authors of this genre, and this is one of the best, even better than the earlier novel

love this series of books and the main character

looking forward to the next book . Great job the writing is brilliant, so much depth and focus on what we in Jan 2023 have gone through these last few years. Thank you for your time. Angela

Bringing these truths to light

What an amazing series! Ms. Rendon has done a service by developing the character of Cash and what child services and the foster care system have done to indigenous families. Just perpetuates the tragedies of the Indian School system and the difficulties of living in multiple worlds. One can see Cash trying to deal with her rage while only beginning to learn where it comes from. She is only barely beginning to discover her own people. Great plot and characters!

Great series!

My mother's grandmother survived The Trail of Tears. Her children and her grandchildren were raised "" White". They only spoke English and she knew no English. My mother's father could talk to her but my mother could not. Both of my mother's parents were part White and part Native Americans. In Oklahoma, it was better to be White. Her parents farmed and did not live on the Reservation. We do not know the name of their tribe or anything else about their lives. It has all been lost. A member of my mother's family tried to find out the Indian number because she had a child that needed long term medical care but she could not find the information that was needed. My mother was the only one in the family that had dark hair and a darker completion but people assumed that she might have an Italian Heritage, with her green eyes, because of the way she was raised and how she was taught speak and to "fit in." So should I feel like our land was stolen, or that we stole their land? I was raised with all of the advantages that this country offers but I wonder if it would have been different if my mother had not moved to Texas and had instead been raised on the reservation in Oklahoma.

Truly wonderful story telling

Wonderful thoughtful book. Always enjoy the narrator. The perfect combination to keep the reader engaged

Rich and exciting

Wonderful creative sentences with layered meanings. The main character is the superhero one. Chapters 7 and eight were beyond exciting. Terrific. And meaningful.

Must read!!

this book was really amazing! it's thrilling and suspenful. just love cash's adventures 💕 can't wait for book 4!

Love these books!

I really enjoy reading these books. Great stories about a forgotten part of America. Thank you for writing about things we want to bury under a mountain of ignorance.

I really hope there will be more of these.

Loved the book. I hope there are more in this series. The story lines are interesting.

Good story

I’ve enjoyed all three of the books in this series. I hit the first two free, but had to purchase this one. It was worth it. Cash feels like a friend now and I am rooting for her.
I live in New Mexico, Indian Country, and I am aware of how private my Native neighbors can be. These books normalize that to my white ears, without explaining. The author gives us a window into the discrimination and abuse that our systems have perpetuated, and the effects that has had on individuals. All this in some great mysteries. Great reads!