Broken Fields - (A Cash Blackbear Mystery) by Marcie R Rendon (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Cash Blackbear, a young Ojibwe woman and occasional sleuth, is back on the case after a man is found dead on a rural Minnesota farm in the next installment of the acclaimed Native crime series.

Minnesota, 1970s: It's spring in the Red River Valley and Cash Blackbear is doing fieldwork for a local farmer--until she finds him dead on the kitchen floor of the property's rented farmhouse. The tenant, a Native field laborer, and his wife are nowhere to be found, but Cash discovers their young daughter, Shawnee, cowering under a bed. The girl, a possible witness to the killing, is too terrified to speak.

In the wake of the murder, Cash can't deny her intuitive abilities: she is suspicious of the farmer's grieving widow, who offers to take in Shawnee temporarily. While Cash is scouring White Earth Reservation for Shawnee's missing mother--whom Cash wants to find before the girl is put in the foster system--another body turns up. Concerned by the escalating threat, Cash races against the clock to figure out the truth of what happened in the farmhouse.

Broken Fields is a compelling, atmospheric read woven with details of American Indian life in northern Minnesota, abusive farm labor practices and women's liberation.

Review Quotes

Praise for Broken Fields

Ms. Magazine's Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2025

"[An] exceptional story . . . [Rendon] weav[es] truth into fiction so by book's end, the reader is left with a satisfying conclusion and with wisdom, this time about a broken public service system that exploits and harms children."
―The Circle: Native American News and Arts

"Rendon has the talent to stay out of her writing and let the story tell itself through the leathery life of Cash Blackbear. She's a character you will never forget."
--The Durango Telegraph

"Perfect for mystery lovers and those interested in Indigenous perspectives and [who] want to learn about the past. Fans will excitedly devour this story word by word and page by page."
--Anishinabek News

"Not usually one for mysteries, I am a sucker for Cash Blackbear, the reluctant Ojibwe intuitive whose interminable grit and no-nonsense know-how make her a force to be reckoned with."
--Karla J. Strand, Ms. Magazine

"Broken Fields has everything readers have loved in Rendon's Cash Blackbear series since the first, Murder on the Red River, was published in 2021. There's a taut plot, plenty of fast-paced excitement, a touch of the supernatural, and poetic writing about the prairie and its animal inhabitants."
--Pioneer Press

"Cash, haunted by a powerful perception that guides her to see what other people miss, is a vividly tragic and unforgettable character."
--Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

"Broken Fields may keep you up late, compulsively reading to the final page."

--BookTrib

"Broken Fields will draw you in and by the time you finish the book you may also have a greater understanding of the challenges faced by indigenous children in the foster care system of the day . . . There is much to admire in Cash . . . An intriguing murder mystery."
--Crime Fiction Lover

"If you like good mysteries with a strong main character, a superb sense of place, and a writing style that draws you right into the heart of each book, you have to make the acquaintance of Cash Blackbear."
--Kittling: Books

"A tragic, unforgiving crime novel that emphasizes the perils of the foster care system for Indigenous children."
--Library Journal, Starred Review

"Peyton Place meets Fargo in this clipped tale of misdoings in the Red River Valley . . . Rendon explor[es] the ways the deck is stacked against Cash because she's a woman, an Ojibwe, and a maverick with limited respect for white men's rules."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Rendon excels at balancing plot and character, taking time to probe Cash's psychology while orchestrating a deliciously complicated mystery for her to solve. Readers will be rapt."
--Publishers Weekly

"Outstanding . . . Rendon delivers lots of suspense; a resourceful, rural community-smart heroine in Cash; and wrenching insights into the overt and covert racism endured by Indigenous people."
--Booklist

Praise for the Cash Blackbear Mysteries

"Marcie Rendon is writing an addictive and authentically Native crime series propelled by the irresistible Cash Blackbear--a warm, sad, sharp, funny and intuitive young Ojibwe woman. I want a shelf of Cash Blackbear novels! To my delight I have a feeling that Rendon is only getting started."
--Louise Erdrich, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Night Watchman

"[A] winning 1970s-set series."
--Sarah Weinman, The New York Times Book Review

"Like Cash's life, there's a rawness and a poetic leanness to Rendon's prose. The plot is quick with no excess, building to a confrontation that's inevitable and electrifying. Rendon's writing is quick and sharp and unflinching in its honesty . . . Haunting and truly gripping."
--Carole E. Barrowman, Star Tribune

"Marcie writes the way Anishinaabe people view the world--full of rich descriptions and layered storytelling. While confronting difficult truths about religion and the value of Indigenous lives, Marcie shares revelatory moments of Cash awakening to her own worth."
--Angeline Boulley, New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper's Daughter

"Rendon is a natural storyteller and a consummate writer . . . There isn't a protagonist in recent fiction with the bearing of Rendon's creation, and we're the better for knowing her."
―Grand Rapids Herald-Review

"The vivid writing and keen eye keep the pages turning and readers hoping for another book in this series."
―Buzzfeed

"[Rendon] is one heck of a mystery novelist. Rendon's Cash Blackbear books are gripping vehicles that tell broader stories about the historical persecution of American Indians."
--Oprah Daily

About the Author

Marcie Rendon is an enrolled member of the White Earth Nation, a Pinckley Prize-winning author, playwright, poet, freelance writer and community arts activist. Rendon was awarded the McKnight Distinguished Artist Award for 2020. She is a speaker on Native issues, leadership and writing. Her second novel in her Cash Blackbear mystery series, Girl Gone Missing, was nominated for the Sue Grafton Memorial Award. Rendon was recognized as a 50 over 50 Change-maker by Minneapolis AARP and Pollen in 2018. She lives in Minneapolis.