Tag Archives: Fiction

Murder On The Red River by Marcie R. Rendon

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Review: Murder On The Red River by Marcie R. Rendon

About: Introducing Cash Blackbear, a young Ojibwe woman whose visions and grit help solve a brutal murder in this award-winning debut.

1970s, Red River Valley between North Dakota and Minnesota: Renee “Cash” Blackbear is 19 years old and tough as nails. She lives in Fargo, North Dakota, where she drives truck for local farmers, drinks beer, plays pool, and helps solve criminal investigations through the power of her visions. She has one friend, Sheriff Wheaton, her guardian, who helped her out of the broken foster care system.

One Saturday morning, Sheriff Wheaton is called to investigate a pile of rags in a field and finds the body of an Indian man. When Cash dreams about the dead man’s weathered house on the Red Lake Reservation, she knows that’s the place to start looking for answers. Together, Cash and Wheaton work to solve a murder that stretches across cultures in a rural community traumatized by racism, genocide, and oppression.

About The Author:

Marcie R. Rendon, citizen of the White Earth Nation, is one of O: The Oprah Magazine’s 31 Native American Authors to Read Right Now and a McKnight Distinguished Artist Award winner. Where They Last Saw Her, Penquin/Random, May 2024. Her debut novel, Murder on the Red River received the Pinckley Women’s Debut Crime Novel Award and was a finalist for the Western Writers of America Spur Award, Contemporary Novel category; and her second novel, Girl Gone Missing, was nominated for the Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award. Her script, Say Their Names, will be produced by Out of Hand Theater, Atlanta, GA. And her script, Sweet Revenge, had a staged reading at the Playwright Center, Mpls., MN. The creative mind of Raving Native Theater, she curated TwinCities Public Television’s Art Is…CreativeNativeResilience. Diego Vazquez and Rendon received the Loft’s Spoken Word Immersion Fellowship for work with incarcerated women.

Marcie Rendon W.ebsite

My Review:
I can’t believe as a Minnesota writer I took this long to read a book by Minnesota author, Marcie R. Rendon. It definitely will not be my last. In fact, I have the next one in this series ordered.

From start to finish it was a mystery that held my attention, but also educated me about Indigenous Americans and the struggle they face with intolerance and bigotry still today.

Cash Blackbear is a strong character and her quest for her identity after being raised in foster homes speaks to a system that has failed young children on the reservation. This is a mystery that keeps us enthralled, teaches, and touches the heart of a reader making us all want to do better in recognizing the fact indigenous woman are at risk for violence and death. Marcie Rendon’s writing keeps that fact in the forefront along with giving us a can’t put down mystery, so we can work harder to find a solution.

New Series? Take A Chance on Jezabelle.

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CoverI was nervous while writing the first book in my new Brilliant Minnesota series, The Penderghast Puzzle Protectors. After finishing the mystery and falling in love with my new characters I felt it was perhaps the best book of both series. The plot had twists and turns which I hoped kept readers interested.

I introduced a main character, Jezabelle Jingle, who has ties to Fuchsia Minnesota. Her niece Delight Delure runs the Pink Percolator in Fuchsia. Jezabelle is younger that Granny in my Fuchsia Series. She is somewhere in her sixties and has a snappy style with not only her life, but also her quick wit. While a little calmer then Granny she gets herself into as much trouble when she and her neighbors find puzzles and mystery where they live in the Penderghast neighborhood.

Jezabelle doesn’t snoop on her neighbors, but she keeps her eye on them, as well she should, as they are a strange lot of many ages.

There is Mr. Warbler who feeds the birds and makes strange sojourns at night into neighboring yards.

We have Rock Stone who comes home at exactly 10:00 p.m., revs the engine of his car, has a smoke and disappears inside his house. And…he never puts his car in his garage.

Miranda Covington never comes out during the day, but Jezabelle has seen her sprint down the street in the middle of the night. Of course there is a mysterious reason Jezabelle is up at 2:00 a.m. too.

And then there is Phoebe Harkins, who insists she is rich and beautiful. The neighbors are never sure exactly what is going to come out of Phoebe’s mouth.

Jezabelle leads her gang and her best friend Lizzy, through twists and turns as you’ve never seen, sputtering direction and giving somewhat addled advice.

However even though I think this is the best book I have written, and my reviews have been excellent sales have been slow. I had a reader I didn’t know, find my phone number and tell me how much she loved the book and wanted to know when the next one would be out. She stayed up all night reading it.

When I ask why the hesitation for the Brilliant series the answer always is: We want Granny. So I am here to tell you that you will love Jezabelle and her crew in the Penderghast Puzzle Protectors as much as Granny. As the series progresses you will follow the quest to find all the puzzles the founders of Brilliant left for their ancestors. I promise you won’t be disappointed. And Granny is still living and alive in the next series book coming out soon, Granny Pins A Pilferer.

Because my next Fuchsia Minnesota book is due out soon I am making The Penderghast Puzzle Protectors e-book for sale on Amazon $.99 for the next week,August 3 – 10. Take a chance to get to know Jezabelle and don’t forget she is also on Audiobook. Spread the word. Jingle with Jezabelle and the Penderghast Puzzle Protectors.