Blood Memory

Starred review from July 21, 2008
Coel introduces a tenacious heroine, Denver investigative reporter Catherine McLeod, in this stellar first in a new series. After an attempt on her life, Catherine realizes she was far from a random target when Arapaho elder Norman Whitehorse informs her that she’s “one of us.” Adopted as a child and still unsure of her identity and heritage, Catherine begins to understand the deep connection she feels to her latest story, about the 1864 Indian massacre at Sand Creek. Whitehorse and Cheyenne leaders call for the tribes’ further compensation for Sand Creek, but when Catherine starts digging, she realizes that there’s more to the land fight than meets the eye, and the trail leads all the way to Washington. With a killer hot on her heels and his collateral damage accumulating, Catherine hurtles toward a conclusion that’s both fitting and unanticipated. A cameo appearance by Coel’s usual leading lady, Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden (The Girl with Braided Hair
, etc.), hints at a much welcome future collaboration between these two crime-solving women.