Where They Last Saw Her - by Marcie R Rendon

About the Book

"Quill has lived on the Red Pine reservation in Minnesota her whole life. As she trains for the Boston Marathon early one morning out in the woods, she hears a scream. When she investigates, she finds tire tracks and a lone, beaded earring. When she realizes another woman has been stolen, she is determined to do something--and her first stop is the group of men working the pipeline construction just north of their homes. As Quill closes in on the truth behind the missing woman in the woods, someone else disappears. In her quest to find justice for the women of the reservation, she is confronted with the hard truths of their home and the people who purport to serve them"--

Book Synopsis

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - From the award-winning author of the Cash Blackbear series comes a compelling novel of a Native American woman who learns of the disappearance of one of her own and decides enough is enough.

A WASHINGTON POST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

All they heard was her scream.

Quill has lived on the Red Pine reservation in Minnesota her whole life. She knows what happens to women who look like her. Just a girl when Jimmy Sky jumped off the railway bridge and she ran for help, Quill realizes now that she's never stopped running. As she trains for the Boston Marathon early one morning in the woods, she hears a scream. When she returns to search the area, all she finds are tire tracks and a single beaded earring.

Things are different now for Quill than when she was a lonely girl. Her friends Punk and Gaylyn are two women who don't know what it means to quit; her loving husband, Crow, and their two beautiful children challenge her to be better every day. So when she hears a second woman has been stolen, she is determined to do something about it--starting with investigating the group of men working the pipeline construction just north of their homes.

As Quill closes in on the truth about the missing women, someone else disappears. In her quest to find justice for all of the women of the reservation, she is confronted with the hard truths of their home and the people who purport to serve them. When will she stop losing neighbors, friends, family? As Quill puts everything on the line to make a difference, the novel asks searing questions about bystander culture, the reverberations of even one act of crime, and the long-lasting trauma of being considered invisible.

Review Quotes

"Mystery writer Rendon, a citizen of the White Earth Nation, creates a compelling, take-charge heroine who is based on the women raising awareness about disproportionately high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous people."--The Washington Post

"Rendon's book will break your heart, but it will also inspire and inform."--Kirkus Review, starred review

"Rendon masterfully navigates the histories of trauma and brutality that continue to exist within our Native communities, laying bare the truths of colonial violence and the continuing need for closure and justice in our homelands."--Ramona Emerson, author of Shutter

"An expert and uncompromising storyteller, Marcie Rendon aims her extraordinary powers on a no-holds barred story that will devastate and enrage you--and renew your belief in the power of community and the strength in women's hearts. Where They Last Saw Her is unmissable."--Katie Gutierrez, bestselling author of More Than You'll Ever Know

"Marcie Rendon has penned another captivating novel, a bold and necessary story about the inescapable ties between land and blood and community. It cries for justice and sings for peace at once."--Oscar Hokeah, author of Calling for a Blanket Dance

"Rendon has delivered a top-shelf crime story that doubles as a moving testament to Native American resilience."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A stunning thriller with great characterization and propulsive plot, built around a current, terrifying reality."--Booklist, starred review

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. Her debut novel, Murder on the Red River, received the Pinckley Prize for Debut 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 G. P. Putnam's Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award. Her script, Say Their Names, will be produced by Out of Hand Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. And her script Sweet Revenge had a staged reading at the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The creative mind of Raving Native Theater, she curated Twin Cities Public Television's Art Is . . . CreativeNativeResilience. Rendon received the Loft Literary Center's Spoken Word Immersion Fellowship with co-creator Diego Vazquez for their work with incarcerated women.