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unusualsnowunicorn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking and Sexual assault
Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Mental illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Gun violence, Child abuse, War, and Suicide attempt
lottpoet's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
amberk032's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Trafficking
Moderate: Confinement and Drug use
Minor: Child abuse
tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
As a noir-lover, I immediately recognize Rendon's style: staccato sentences that build a world both viscerally real and almost claustrophobic through relentless layering of details calls to mind the best works of Chandler and Hammett. But unlike those authors' stoic white male protagonists, Rendon's Cash Blackbear is a study in protective dissociation. She detaches from her emotions because, historically, her life has sucked, and feeling and expressing emotions has led to nothing but disaster. Rendon's is a classic style indelibly informed by Cash's time, place, and identity. And, oh yeah, there's a mystery, but I read this series for Cash and her world; the mystery is almost immaterial.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Confinement, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Racism, Violence, and Child abuse
Moderate: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Sexual content, Mental illness, Blood, Drug use, Vomit, and Trafficking
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and War
annemaries_shelves's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Unfortunately this was a disappointment for me.
Now granted, I don't often read from the mystery genre but I do enjoy it - I'm just impatient to get to the mystery resolution.
However - this was barely a mystery. We find out the first girl goes missing in the first 25-30 pages, and the second girl in 50-60 pages in. And then NOTHING HAPPENS for 150 more pages - until the final third. And even then, it's quick, predictable, and not all that gritty despite what other reviews say.
I thought - erroneously - Cash was an amateur detective type character based on the back of the book. No, she's just a traumatized young adult going to college and working, barely dealing with her past and just stumbles into whatever the (barely there) plot is. She's also really predictable as a character - nothing about her was unique or interesting. I was bored by her.
If - like me - you haven't read the first book because you got it in the Raven Reads box (which is an amazing subscription box service fyi), you definitely don't need to have read that one. It's summarized throughout this second book (as many serialized mysteries are) and I highly doubt there was any character development between the first and second novels as there was none in this one.
I appreciated the author's note as she explains the importance and tragedy of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (and Two-Spirit) movement that the Canadian and American governments ignore and in many ways perpetrate. However, that note couldn't save this book.
It was a quick read and not the series for me.
CW: attempted sexual assault, drugging, off-page branding, human trafficking, PTSD from Vietnam war, previous abuse from foster homes, racist language
Now granted, I don't often read from the mystery genre but I do enjoy it - I'm just impatient to get to the mystery resolution.
However - this was barely a mystery. We find out the first girl goes missing in the first 25-30 pages, and the second girl in 50-60 pages in. And then NOTHING HAPPENS for 150 more pages - until the final third. And even then, it's quick, predictable, and not all that gritty despite what other reviews say.
I thought - erroneously - Cash was an amateur detective type character based on the back of the book. No, she's just a traumatized young adult going to college and working, barely dealing with her past and just stumbles into whatever the (barely there) plot is. She's also really predictable as a character - nothing about her was unique or interesting. I was bored by her.
If - like me - you haven't read the first book because you got it in the Raven Reads box (which is an amazing subscription box service fyi), you definitely don't need to have read that one. It's summarized throughout this second book (as many serialized mysteries are) and I highly doubt there was any character development between the first and second novels as there was none in this one.
I appreciated the author's note as she explains the importance and tragedy of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (and Two-Spirit) movement that the Canadian and American governments ignore and in many ways perpetrate. However, that note couldn't save this book.
It was a quick read and not the series for me.
CW: attempted sexual assault, drugging, off-page branding, human trafficking, PTSD from Vietnam war, previous abuse from foster homes, racist language
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Colonisation
awebofstories's review against another edition
dark
medium-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
About halfway through this book, I realized this series would be about watching an author grow.
In the first novel, Murder on the Red River, I loved Rendon's character of Cash Blackbear and the descriptions of Cash's life and challenges, but I felt the mystery element fell very short. In this book, we still get more of Cash's complex life; this time, much time is spent on the after-effects of trauma, and the mystery element is better. It's not great, but it's better.
Unlike in the first book, I was more invested in the mystery. Instead of a murder to be solved, Cash is asked to help find out what happened to a missing girl in one of her classes. Cash does some detective work, but more time is spent on her prophetic dreams. Ultimately, though, Cash doesn't exactly "solve" the case.
We also are introduced to Cash's brother, Mo. I wish we had gotten to know him better, but I wasn't completely sure what his importance was in this story. However, Mo's presence seemed to minimize Sheriff Wheaton's role. I wish we had more of Wheaton, as his relationship with Cash was a highlight of the first book.
While this book was an improvement from the first book, it still wasn't quite what I wanted. However, there is still much here to be admired, and the improvement in the series makes me hopeful for the next book.
In the first novel, Murder on the Red River, I loved Rendon's character of Cash Blackbear and the descriptions of Cash's life and challenges, but I felt the mystery element fell very short. In this book, we still get more of Cash's complex life; this time, much time is spent on the after-effects of trauma, and the mystery element is better. It's not great, but it's better.
Unlike in the first book, I was more invested in the mystery. Instead of a murder to be solved, Cash is asked to help find out what happened to a missing girl in one of her classes. Cash does some detective work, but more time is spent on her prophetic dreams. Ultimately, though, Cash doesn't exactly "solve" the case.
We also are introduced to Cash's brother, Mo. I wish we had gotten to know him better, but I wasn't completely sure what his importance was in this story. However, Mo's presence seemed to minimize Sheriff Wheaton's role. I wish we had more of Wheaton, as his relationship with Cash was a highlight of the first book.
While this book was an improvement from the first book, it still wasn't quite what I wanted. However, there is still much here to be admired, and the improvement in the series makes me hopeful for the next book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Rape
carolynkwolff's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Trafficking, Emotional abuse, Racism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Drug use and Rape
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