Book Summary and Reviews of The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie

Reader Reviews

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Brenda_Wychock

A great story
The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lilie is a great story. It has a mystery mixed with a bit of history. I really enjoyed the writing. The characters are so real. I was really taken with Syd Walker.

Vanessa Lillie is a new to me author whom I plan to read more of. A very talented writer.

If you enjoy Tony Hillerman or Angeline Boulley books you will enjoy The Bone Thief.

Sherie_W

A great read!
Very good! I received an advance copy via BookBrowse for review. I hadn't realized it was a sequel when I requested the novel. So I read Blood Sisters first, which was very good. Reading The Bone Thief was even better. it gave me an insight to the atrocities that have, and continue to, impacted the Native Americans. I look forward to reading more Vanessa Lillie novels.

Linda_Monaco

BIA Crime Solver
In The Bone Thief, indigenous author Vanessa Lillie's lead character is crime solver Syd Walker, an archeologist with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The story moves along quickly as she tries to locate a missing woman and the bones and burial artifacts that have been stolen from a 300-year-old indigenous woman's grave. This book is part thriller, part historical fiction, part mystery and totally entertaining. I certainly learned a great deal about the Narragansett people, both their history and present-day struggles.

The Bone Thief is the sequel to Lillie's novel Blood Sisters. I have already downloaded that book onto my reader and can't wait to get started. I think anyone who likes mysteries and is concerned about the disappearance and murders of indigenous women and girls will be especially drawn to this series.

Lyris

History and Justice
History is written by the winners. However, members of The Founders, an exclusive club in Rhode Island, whose ancestors go back to the Mayflower, are not satisfied with all they've won, they want to create a shrine to themselves via a museum incorporating the bones and relics of the Narragansett Indians they've vanquished – which they hope will also make them even richer than they currently are.

It was not enough to take the land, and to take native children from their families to "save" them and to relegate the native population to low paying jobs. While pretending to agree to incorporate native perspectives in their "educational" museum, they actually would prefer total elimination of the natives and, in fact, continually to them in the past tense as if they no longer existed.

All this is background for the story of a native woman who goes missing, native bones and relics (or more appropriately, "belongings") which are dug up from sacred burial grounds and then stolen. Syd, a Cherokee from Oklahoma (with a backstory of her own) and archeologist working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs investigates these two crimes.

This was a fascinating depiction of not only our early history with conquering native populations but also of some current attitudes – while also being a compelling mystery with some very interesting characters. Highly recommend!

Julie_B

4.0 out of 5 stars The Bone Thief - incredibly entertaining AND enlightening! I highly recommend!
Having previously read and loved its prequel, Blood Sisters, I was so excited to get my hands on the next installment in the life of Syd Walker, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist. (I refuse to call it a sequel, as I hope Lillie will make it a series and not a duology.)

This time, Lillie whisks us from the plains of Oklahoma to Rhode Island, and the land of the Narragansett people, to tell a different, yet equally gripping and suspenseful tale. So well timed for its late Fall release, as the plot revolves around the “Founders Society” (think colonial lineage) and the local tribal community; yet it also makes for a great summer read - think the height of summer camp season - as Lillie's descriptive setting puts the reader directly into Syd’s POV.

Lillie’s atmospheric setting and tense narrative drew me into the story, but her emotional character development kept me turning the pages. I found myself not only concerned, but fully invested in the outcome of each character. I felt the thrum of the drums at the powwow, heard the shouts from the protest. Even more, I found myself digging deeper into the storyline, as Lillie blended fact and fiction seamlessly. I wanted, no, NEEDED to know more about the Great Swamp Massacre. “Sharing the past is important, but it should be led by the people who carry that history forward and are living it today.”

Bottomline: I found The Bone Thief incredibly entertaining AND enlightening and highly recommend this novel!

All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For the entire review, complete with my favorite quotes, please visit my substack
or follow me on Instagram @readingonthebrink

Julie_B

Incredibly entertaining and enlightening AND highly recommended!
In honor of Indigenous People’s Day, I wanted to highlight and revisit one of my favorite summer reads, The Bone Thief. Having previously read and loved its prequel, Blood Sisters, I was so excited to learn I could get my hands on the next installment in the life of Syd Walker, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist, as Lillie created a traveling ARC tour! (I refuse to call it a sequel, as I hope Lillie will make it a series and not a duology.) (See my review of Blood Sisters over on Goodreads.

This time, Lillie whisks us from the plains of Oklahoma to Rhode Island, and the land of the Narragansett people to tell a different, yet equally gripping and suspenseful tale. While I read this during the height of summer camp season, making it very easy to put myself into Syd’s POV, I also think it will be so well timed for a late Fall release, given the plot revolves around the “Founders Society” (think colonial lineage) and the local tribal community. Lillie’s atmospheric setting and tense narrative drew me into the story, but her emotional character development kept me turning the pages, as I found myself not only concerned, but fully invested in the outcome of each character. I felt the thrum of the drums at the powwow, heard the shouts from the protest. Even more, I found myself digging deeper into the storyline, as Lillie blended fact and fiction seamlessly. I wanted, no, needed to know more about the Great Swamp Massacre. “Sharing the past is important, but it should be led by the people who carry that history forward and are living it today.” Bottomline: I found The Bone Thief incredibly entertaining and enlightening, and I highly recommend this novel.

For the entire review, complete with my favorite quotes, please visit my substack
or follow me on Instagram @readingonthebrink !

...22 more reader reviews