The bone thief

Archaeologist Syd Walker is back after her outing in Blood Sisters (2023). Syd, fresh from a deeply personal case in Oklahoma, returns to her job at the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Rhode Island. She's brought home her childhood friend, who's now living with her, and Syd's wife is pregnant with their first child. Syd's life becomes even more stressful when she finds the skeleton of a Native woman. The skeleton dates back to the 1600s, and Syd wants to make sure the bones return to the woman's people. But a local group called the Founders Society thinks otherwise. Descendants of the British who took American Indian land, the Founders seek to claim the relics for their own museum collection. As Syd tries to unravel the conflict, a Narragansett woman disappears, creating further complications. As both an outsider and kin, Syd owes the tribe but must figure out how to help them solve their mysteries. Lillie's second entry in the series builds on Syd's life at home and how she as a Cherokee relates to the Narragansett tribe.

In Lillie's potent sequel to Blood Sisters, Cherokee archaeologist Syd Walker probes a constellation of cases rooted in centuries-old tensions between Native Americans and European colonizers. After her boss retires and she's promoted within the Rhode Island Bureau of Indian Affairs, Syd receives a startling voicemail on her predecessor's phone: "We found the remains at the back of the camp." The caller, it turns out, works at Camp Quahog, a summer camp run by the Founders Society, whose members trace their ancestry back to the Mayflower. Syd heads to the camp and identifies the remains as those of a female baby who died 300 years earlier. Then the remains vanish, and Syd learns that it's just the latest in a series of similar disappearances. Meanwhile, a young Native woman--and former BIA intern--named Naomi is reported missing. As Syd investigates the thefts and tries to track down Naomi, she uncovers dark secrets about the Founders Society that suggest foul play. Lillie goes even deeper and darker than she did in the previous installment, folding powerful questions about who gets to write history into a crackling mystery plot. This series has legs. Agent: Jamie Carr, Book Group. (Oct.)