Welcome to Litsy!

#12BooksOf2025 February. A combination of a small town saga & a mystery as the richest man in town is found dead . It‘s 1958 as Sheriff Dern investigates, family secrets, racism, and WWII trauma are unleashed in the process.

Cool book about the history of the lost forest. Basically, some surveyors back in the day were in the wrong part of the forest and only found a lake but not a forest. Therefore, this “lost“ forest was never on a map. Interesting history and nice illustrations.

I think this is #4 or #5 in the series of Cash Blackbear, a 20 year old, raised in the foster care system now friend and aide to the county sheriff. Set in Fargo, ND/MN.

"Cash stepped out of the cab of her Ranchero onto the soft, black dirt of the field she was to plow under."

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I liked this but not as much as I thought I would. It was good to catch up with Cash and Wheaton again. The mystery was interesting, and the background story was poignant. However, it didn‘t completely work for me in a way I can‘t quite identify. Still, I hope there‘s a book five.

Alas, this doesn‘t fit any #ChristmasCrimeChallenge prompts I haven‘t done already.

#bookspin #serieslove2025 #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth

Excellent writing with interesting characters, this book kept a steady pace and had a satisfactory ending for me. Recommended if you like introspective main characters, and a midwestern setting where not all the character threads are tied off neatly at the end.

I wasn‘t sure I would continue with this series after the last installment. The situations Cash was placed into made me angry with the other characters who kept putting her in danger. And Cash‘s moral ambiguity was a challenge. In many ways, I think this is one of the best in the series so far. It explores similar themes, yes, but with a fresh angle that develops the characters in new ways. I‘m glad I decided to keep going with the series!

My local library is having a week! My held copy of Brigands & Breadknives is sitting there until December, so I was happy when the tagged book became available on Libby. After all that and a busy weekend, it‘s nice to put up my feet and read for the evening. #hyggehourreadathon

Cash is back! She is haunted by the lengths she has had to go to survive and her gifts seem to be on the fritz, but she is still the first to discover the murder of a wealthy farmer. A young native girl abandoned by her parents is the only witness. Cash has to solve the murder and find the girl‘s parents before more lives are ruined. A 4 ⭐️ read. Rendon‘s love of MN and her community are evident.