Where They Last Saw Her

A Novel

By: Marcie R. Rendon

Narrated by: Erin Tripp, Marcie R. Rendon

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the award-winning author of the Cash Blackbear series comes a compelling mystery of a Native American woman who learns of the disappearance of one of her own and decides enough is enough.

“Rendon shows how harm done to a marginalized community can reverberate through generations [as] the novel hurtles toward a breath-robbing conclusion.”—The New York Times Book Review

A WASHINGTON POST AND BOOK RIOT BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • FINALIST FOR THE MINNESOTA BOOK AWARD

All they heard was her scream.

Quill has lived on the Red Pine reservation in Minnesota her whole life. She knows what happens to women who look like her. Just a girl when Jimmy Sky jumped off the railway bridge and she ran for help, Quill realizes now that she’s never stopped running. As she trains for the Boston Marathon early one morning in the woods, she hears a scream. When she returns to search the area, all she finds are tire tracks and a single beaded earring.

Things are different now for Quill than when she was a lonely girl. Her friends Punk and Gaylyn are two women who don’t know what it means to quit; her loving husband, Crow, and their two beautiful children challenge her to be better every day. So when she hears a second woman has been stolen, she is determined to do something about it—starting with investigating the group of men working the pipeline construction just north of their homes.

As Quill closes in on the truth about the missing women, someone else disappears. In her quest to find justice for all of the women of the reservation, she is confronted with the hard truths of their home and the people who purport to serve them. When will she stop losing neighbors, friends, family? As Quill puts everything on the line to make a difference, the novel asks searing questions about bystander culture, the reverberations of even one act of crime, and the long-lasting trauma of being considered invisible.

©2024 Marcie R. Rendon (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Mystery writer Rendon, a citizen of the White Earth Nation, creates a compelling, take-charge heroine who is based on the women raising awareness about disproportionately high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous people.”—The Washington Post

“Rendon’s book will break your heart, but it will also inspire and inform.”—Kirkus Review, starred review

“Rendon masterfully navigates the histories of trauma and brutality that continue to exist within our Native communities, laying bare the truths of colonial violence and the continuing need for closure and justice in our homelands.”—Ramona Emerson, author of Shutter

FANTASTIC NON FICTION - FICTION

Kudos to author for her anti-Cinderella story where my sisters saved themselves!very much worth my time, my tears, my prayers, and my actions.

Powerful

Wow this was a very powerful story. As a cis male and a father of a young teenage boy this story not only sheds light on how we treat indigenous women it highlights how society disregards women while at the same time falls over itself extending privilege to guys like me. Powerful story that inspires me to do better, be better, and father my son in a way to not commodiz women

Don’t miss!

Gripping, moving story telling and a meaningful message carried by solid, compelling characters. I loved it.

Empowering

Very emotional story but very empowering as well. I don’t really like mysteries but I liked this one.

Rez life

Fictional but gets to the heart of the crimes against native peoples. Great insight into the issues that people on Native reservations face.

excellent

This novel is not only a compelling mystery but also a powerful commentary on bystander culture and the enduring trauma of marginalized communities. It's a must-read that will both captivate and enlighten readers.

An important story with lackluster characters

While I found this to be an emotional and inspiring read, I struggled to connect with any of the characters. The main character’s lack of growth was particularly disappointing, as she continued her pattern of reckless behavior. I understand the author’s point that the police are unreliable, but this wasn’t very well illustrated in the book. Characters would express frustration with the cops and take matters into their own hands, but the main cop character seemed well intentioned and reliable throughout the story. It was incredibly frustrating to see the main character engage in unnecessary vigilantism without good reason to distrust her cop friend. Apart from enjoying running, the main characters were very uninteresting. It felt as though they weren’t really explored beyond their existence on the reservation and their one passion. Dialogue was often written as though characters were reading from a textbook on MMIW and native culture. I felt that I was being told about life on a reservation through unnatural conversation, instead of being shown through narrative. I really wanted to enjoy this book as someone who is learning about MMIW, but I honestly would not recommend it to my friends.

Historical fiction

Sad but all too true sorry of human trafficking. I live near a casino in WNY and it made me think about the native community near me. Read a little slow.

The story of missing native women needs to be told, and Ms Rendon does it well.

A man doesn’t solve this mystery, but rather native women. They are logical and smart, just the way a woman should be. The pain and sadness of losing yet another native woman is so often overlooked and forgotten. That is not how Ms. Rendon sees it. She reminds us that this is still a very real issue today.

The honesty against political decisions and missteps

A great read from a congressman who was a special forces operative in the Middle East who tells the inconvenient truths about American leadership.