Published: 2025
Author: Vanessa Lillie
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Native American Fiction
Audience: Grades 9–12, Adult
Number of Stars: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Goodreads Link: The Bone Thief
Content Warnings: Murder, missing persons, racism, and historical trauma.
Publisher’s Summary
When a Native teenager vanishes from her small town—a place with dark ties to an elite historical society—archaeologist Syd Walker is called to investigate…from bestselling author Vanessa Lillie.
In the hours before dawn at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker receives an alarming call: newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen. Not only have bones gone missing, but a Native teen girl has disappeared near the camp, and law enforcement dismisses her family’s fears.
As Syd investigates both crimes, she’s drawn into a world of privileged campers and their wealthy parents—most of them members of the Founders Society, an exclusive club whose members trace their lineage to the first colonists and claim ancestral rights to the land, despite fierce objections from the local tribal community. And it’s not the first time something—or someone—has gone missing from the camp.
The deeper Syd digs, the more she realizes these aren’t isolated incidents. A pattern of disappearances stretches back generations, all leading to the Founders Society’s doorstep. But exposing the truth means confronting not just the town’s most powerful families, but also a legacy of violence that refuses to stay buried. From the national bestselling author of Blood Sisters (a Washington Post Best Mystery of the Year and Target Book Club pick) comes a new Syd Walker novel that proves the sins of the past are destined to repeat until the truth is finally unearthed.
Full Review
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It delivered on the mystery end and did so with the authenticity of archaeology. Reading about a BIA archaeologist in action uncovering Native American bones was awesome! I liked that the story brought to focus the continuing battle between White people and Native American people regarding who owns what and what is considered sacred.
For too long, texts have allowed White people to write the story about Native American people and their culture. This book brings that problem to light and wrestles with the imbalance of power that exists in our society today. While I don’t think the ultimate outcome on this front was complete—the “easy way out” was taken regarding the resolution of the power struggle—I do appreciate the attempt. This book would be a great addition to a Native American or Indigenous studies course.
📊 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW)
The disappearance of the Native teen in the novel reflects the real-world MMIW crisis. Statistics show that Indigenous women face significantly higher rates of violence than other demographics.
- Violence Rates: According to the National Institute of Justice, more than 84% of Native American and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime.
- Murder Rates: On some reservations, Indigenous women are murdered at rates more than 10 times the national average.
- Reporting Disparities: Data from the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) showed that in recent years, there were over 5,700 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, though the Department of Justice’s federal missing persons database often only accounts for a fraction of these cases.
🎒 Classroom & Curricular Connections
- Social Studies (Indigenous Studies): Use the book to discuss the history of land rights and the ethical shift in American archaeology from “grave robbing” to “repatriation.”
- Science (Archaeology/Forensics): Discuss the tools Syd Walker uses to identify remains. How does DNA testing and soil analysis help solve modern and historical crimes?
- ELA (Perspective & Power): Analyze the reviewer’s point about who “writes the story.” Have students compare a colonial-era historical text with a modern Indigenous perspective on the same event.
- Ethics & Law: Debate the “Founder’s Society” claims vs. Tribal claims. What happens when “ancestral rights” clash with “sovereignty”?
