Breakaway Books

Authored by Marcie Rendon; Published August 2024; Mystery

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️

Technically, Where They Last Saw Her is a mystery, but to me, it came off much more as social commentary. The commentary was powerful; it just wasn’t really about who had committed the crime.

Where They Last Saw Her follows Quill, an American Indian, as she tries to uncover the perpetrator behind a series of crimes against women on her reservation. After she hears a mysterious scream while running in the forest, she works with her two friends, Punk and Gaylyn, to track down who the victim (and the perpetrator) may be. But as she pursues the criminal, she finds herself in more danger than she predicted.

It was infuriating to read, over and over again, about crimes against American Indian women being ignored. Unfortunately, that aspect of the novel seems all too realistic. I was initially frustrated by Quill’s refusal to go to the police, her absolute insistence that she must identify the victim of the crime she heard—after all, some of her actions verge on the crime of obstructing an investigation. Over the course of the novel, though, it becomes clear that she has good reason to stick to her gun, as offense after offense is committed and no one is brought to justice. Of course, I tend to feel more like her husband Crow, who opines that the pursuit of justice is all well and good until you, yourself, and your family are in danger. But you have to admire Quill’s ferocity in protecting her community, even if, at times, it tipped towards obsession. 

The community that Quill inspired was one of the most uplifting elements of the novel. As she, Punk and Gaylyn keep up their marathon training even when it seems most dangerous, they inspire the other women in their community to take up space and demand what they deserve as well. It became clear that every woman in the community was facing issues of some kind: abuse, addiction, financial troubles. It was inspiring to see them come together in joy in spite of it all, and it was heartening to hear Quill acknowledge that all of the pain they had been through was a form of trauma that needed treatment. 

Where They Last Saw Her isn’t for those seeking a hard-core mystery to solve, but it is a haunting example of life as an American Indian.