What do readers think of The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie? Write your own review.

The Bone Thief picks up a few months after the first novel in the series, Blood Sisters, with Syd once again working for the BIA back in RI looking for a missing person. I appreciate that The Bone Thief sheds light on a topic that isn't discussed frequently. I learned a few new things about the injustices and struggles of the American Indian population and also appreciated the author's note referencing the history. I wanted to like this book more as I think the concept and mystery was interesting but found it a bit unrealistic, difficult to follow and disjointed at times. There were many characters to keep track and overall just felt like there was too much going on in the various subplots.

I enjoyed this indigenous mystery. Syd was a strong character who was at time in a tough situation. I felt the author did a wonderful job highlighting the struggles indigenous people have over respect for the artifacts and way off life. The mystery elements were well plotted. It was a pretty ok mystery.

As BIA archeologist Syd Walker investigates missing artifacts, a mystery unfolds highlighting Native American culture and how American colonialism has harmed it. I found the copious dialog detracted from the development of characters and the mystery itself. For me, as one who enjoys learning our rich Native American history and culture, it fell short of expectations.

This book started off with an intriguing premise, Indigenous remains have been unearthed and the owners of the property claims legal ownership. We meet our heroine, a Cherokee BIA worker, who we hope will save the day. Lots of history and modern day issues are addressed. And then we are told the owners of the land are part of a "Founders" organization that is trying to create a museum to save their failing club.
Very quickly the story becomes a tale of a weird group of cultish leaders, crazy cover-ups, unbelievable coincidences, murders, blackmail plots, baby-stealing plans, and worse.

I read to the end, and the story just became more and more chaotic, in a very bad way. I felt that this story could have been much better, and interesting had the author not decided to put forth such an unbelievable plot in such a confusing, disconnected way. So disappointed!