It's 1909, and eleven-year-old Ollie Radley and two Choctaw girls, Hazel and Nessa, orphan wards of her parents, are at the mercy of their pedophile stepfather. When Hazel disappears, Ollie, fearing for their safety, flees with six-year-old Nessa into the wilds of the Oklahoma mountains and the safety she seeks at an old homestead.
In 1990, park law enforcement ranger Valerie Boren-Odell was appointed to the newly created Horsethief Trail National Park. She was met with a missing person, a mysterious death, an old burial site, and local resistance to the freshly minted park. Still grieving over her husband's death and adjusting to being a single parent, Val must prove herself to her fellow rangers and the local community. Her only allies are the twelve-year-old sister of the missing person, who has a history of "telling tall tales," and a fellow law enforcement officer from the Choctaw Tribal Police. Facing adversity at every turn, they unite to try and find answers.
This story is rich in historical information about the early days of the Oklahoma land grab and the injustices done to the native tribes. This topic was also explored in "Killers of the Flower Moon,” but Wingate's fictional characters show how the exploitation occurred on a large scale and zeroes in on the plight of the children. Using the two timelines and two strong females, Wingate adeptly weaves a historical fiction and a mystery novel that both informs and entertains. The story is told with empathy and hard facts that tugged at my heart and kept me wanting to know more. I highly recommend this book.
5/5 stars.
Thank you, NetGalley and Ballantine Books, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is June 4, 2024.
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