The second Cash Blackbear novel has Cash starting college which she finds a really alien environment. Between hippies and flower children and the growing American Indian Movement, she's being introduced to all sorts of things that haven't come into her world before. She used to working for farmers, drinking beer, smoking and shooting pool. She been in her own apartment since she was thirteen and Wheaton got her out of her last abusive foster home.

When a college girl goes missing for no apparent reason, Cash finds herself introduced to the white slavery industry which is also something new to her. Another new thing is the reappearance of her brother. She hasn't seen him or heard anything about him since she was taken from her mother as a small child and started on the parade of foster homes. Mo tracks her down and moves in to get to know her. He's a recently discharged Vietnam veteran who was a medic and who has come home with PTSD. They spend time together drinking beer and shooting pool.

Cash is doing well in college. So well, in fact, that she opts to test out of her freshman English and science classes. Her results on her English final are so good that her professor enters her into an essay contest which will result in her first trip to the Twin Cities for the award ceremony at Macalaster College. And it results in her own encounter with white slavery.

I really enjoyed this story. The setting is familiar to me since I am also a Minnesotan although the Red River Valley is on the opposite side of Minnesota from where I grew up. Cash and I would be near in age and, although our life experiences couldn't be more different, some aspects were completely familiar.

I liked the author's note that talks about real problems faced by Native American women. ( )

The second Cash Blackbear novel has Cash starting college which she finds a really alien environment. Between hippies and flower children and the growing American Indian Movement, she's being introduced to all sorts of things that haven't come into her world before. She used to working for farmers, drinking beer, smoking and shooting pool. She been in her own apartment since she was thirteen and Wheaton got her out of her last abusive foster home.

When a college girl goes missing for no apparent reason, Cash finds herself introduced to the white slavery industry which is also something new to her. Another new thing is the reappearance of her brother. She hasn't seen him or heard anything about him since she was taken from her mother as a small child and started on the parade of foster homes. Mo tracks her down and moves in to get to know her. He's a recently discharged Vietnam veteran who was a medic and who has come home with PTSD. They spend time together drinking beer and shooting pool.

Cash is doing well in college. So well, in fact, that she opts to test out of her freshman English and science classes. Her results on her English final are so good that her professor enters her into an essay contest which will result in her first trip to the Twin Cities for the award ceremony at Macalaster College. And it results in her own encounter with white slavery.

I really enjoyed this story. The setting is familiar to me since I am also a Minnesotan although the Red River Valley is on the opposite side of Minnesota from where I grew up. Cash and I would be near in age and, although our life experiences couldn't be more different, some aspects were completely familiar.

I liked the author's note that talks about real problems faced by Native American women. ( )

Solid mystery series, and I quite like what she's doing with the genre. ( )

If you want to read and learn about another culture's experiences, I highly recommend that you find Marcie R. Rendon's Cash Blackbear mysteries. You will be taken straight into the life of a young Native American girl in 1970s North Dakota and Minnesota. You will learn what commonly happened to Native Americans at this time and how their lives and hopes and dreams were (almost always) warped by the experiences.

In this second Cash Blackbear mystery, Rendon shines a light on the Indian Adoption Project that was in effect from 1941 to 1967 as well as the plight of missing and murdered indigenous women that still haunts the country to this day. Cash's brother, Mo, is full of surprises and shows us how life was for many returned Vietnam veterans. I think the best part of Girl Gone Missing for me-- outside of the brilliant characterization of Cash herself-- was learning more about her friend and guardian, Sheriff Wheaton. His backstory and motivations make him even more special.

There is an inevitability to Girl Gone Missing that is compelling. Even though the missing girls are young and white and blond and blue-eyed, readers feel that Cash will be the exception to the rule... and they will also feel that she will be able to survive whatever experience follows. How she does it is true to her indomitable spirit. No matter how many times she's knocked down, no matter how many times she tells herself not to wish for anything, this young woman will not give up, and I for one will always cheer her on.

The third book in the series, Sinister Graves, will be released in October. I can't wait. Without a doubt, Rendon's Cash Blackbear mysteries are my favorite finds of 2022. Do yourself a favor and grab the first one, Murder on the Red River. How these books can be so bleak yet so full of hope, I'll never know. But I do know that Marcie R. Rendon is an incredibly talented writer, and I want to read more. ( )

Cash Blackbear is a 19 year old Ojibwe girl trying to navigate college. She is not impressed with the shallow lives many of the other young college students live. She works hard in the fields driving beets to market and has been doing this since she was 13 years old. She also is friends with the Sheriff and helps him out on cases from time to time. Cash has visions that give her clues to solving crimes. In this book, the mystery is what has happened to several young blonde girls who have gone missing. Cash is also surprised to have her long lost brother show up on her doorstep fresh out of Vietnam.

I was interested in this story from the first page. I love how the character of Cash is written. She is strong and yet she is vulnerable as well. She has many layers that I look forward to learning more about as this series progresses. I also loved the character of Mo, Cash's brother. I am hoping we get to see him again. I find the description of the ND/MN area of the Red River Valley fascinating to read and have been told that it is very accurate in its portrayal. I will be recommending this series and looking forward to the next book. ( )