Murder on the Red River

WINNER OF THE PINCKLEY PRIZE FOR BEST DEBUT NOVEL

‘Masterfully weaves two stories in a seamless, vivid narrative’ - LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS

‘A starkly beautiful piece of American noir’ - TARIQ ASHKANANI

Minnesota, 1971. Nineteen-year-old Renee 'Cash' Blackbear spends her days playing pool, drinking beer and driving trucks for the local wheat farmers. Bounced around foster homes like so many other Ojibwe children, Cash doesn't bother much with friends - except her guardian, Sheriff Wheaton, who's kept an eye out for her since she went into the system.

When the body of a murdered Ojibwe man is found discarded in a cornfield, Wheaton asks Cash for help. The residents of the nearby Red Lake Reservation have good reason to distrust outsiders, and Cash may be the only one who can get them to talk. But racial tensions run deep along the Red River, and soon Cash isn't only searching for justice: she's fighting for her life.

‘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 NIGHT WATCHMAN

[Rendon] is one heck of a mystery novelist. Rendon's Cash Blackbear books are gripping vehicles that tell broader stories ― Oprah Daily

Masterfully weaves two stories in a seamless, vivid narrative ― Los Angeles Review of Books

'Oozes lyrical prose, an exquisite sense of place and truly authentic characters' - HEATHER CRITCHLOW

'With thoughtful writing that resonates and a great protagonist. Cash Blackbear is unforgettable' - CAROLINE HULSE