Reviews with content warning for Racism - Murder on the Red River

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Murder on the Red River by Marcie R. Rendon

18 reviews

jourdanicus's review against another edition

mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This is another one I was so looking forward to reading... A murder mystery with an Indigenous main character sounded like my jam, especially since I really enjoyed Winter Counts when I read it in 2021. Unfortunately for me this plot panned out far too slowly and the story really did not hold my attention well. I'm usually more than fine with a character driven novel, but I needed something deeper than step-by-step descriptions of Cash doing her laundry, driving back and forth from her apartment, and so on.

This book had potential. I felt that the characters were believable and the plot had potential but it wasn't developed enough; it unfolded too slowly and without enough tension building especially for what was supposed to be a murder mystery. I did like the setting and time period, I feel the 70s don't get enough attention in fiction. I liked Cash as a character and was rooting for her! I am looking forward to more in the series, hopefully the author's writing style continues to grow.

Edit: Oh yeah, and there was a bit about Cash having sort of...visions or dreams of what happened to the murder victim and his family. I desperately wanted more of that! It was disappointing that it was only a small piece of the story, and like I said, more time was spent on descriptions of housework and baths :(

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raineedayreader's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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heydebigale's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I thought this was an excellent opening to this series! I’m very excited to read more of the Cash Blackbear series.

The Book takes place in the 70s, and the historical fiction informs what was happening with the First Nations in the United States at the time.

Marcie Rendon is an enrolled member of the White Earth Anishinabe Nation and I appreciated her perspective regarding the foster system and how indigenous kids were removed from their families homes.

Notes: takes place on the border of ND and MN along the Red River near Fargo, ND. Cash is indigenous.

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