Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Handless Maiden: A Lakota Mystery
The Handless Maiden: A Lakota Mystery
The Handless Maiden: A Lakota Mystery
Ebook407 pages9 hours

The Handless Maiden: A Lakota Mystery

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

With The Handless Maiden, the first of the Lakota mysteries, Dorothy Black Crow joined the ranks of today’s top crime novelists. She has written a “no-holds-barred, knock-your-socks-off unforgettable story of the South Dakota Badlands.” (William Kent Krueger, Edgar Award winner & NYT bestselling author of Ordinary Grace)
Joanna Joe was murdered, her body dumped in a ditch on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Her hands - tattooed with her allegiance to the American Indian Movement - have been stolen. A killer’s trophy? Or a message? Lakota medicine-man-in-training Alex Turning Hawk is determined to find the truth and stop a bloody showdown between AIM warriors thirsting for justice and the FBI intent on control. The trail twists and turns leading Alex away from the reservation and away from his new wife, Tate. Tate Turning Hawk, born Native American but raised White, struggles to learn and accept the old ways as she pursues her own investigation on the Reservation. Will the path of the Sacred Pipe prevail - or the gun?
What people are saying:
˃˃˃ "With The Handless Maiden, Dorothy Black Crow has produced a no-holds-barred, knock-your-socks-off unforgettable story of the South Dakota Badlands and those who, for centuries, have called it home. Like all classic novels, conflict is at the story’s heart - the brutal conflict of cultures, white and red; of the urban Native experience and reservation life; of the world of the flesh and the world of the spirit. Black Crow paints the landscape with lyrical strokes of stunning detail. Her characters speak with authentic voice. Her language is rich and full of the power of truth. And the thread of mystery she’s woven into every page is a taut and twisting beauty that will, I guarantee, keep you riveted until the end." (William Kent Krueger, NYT bestselling author - Ordinary Grace)

˃˃˃ “The Handless Maiden is something unique: a realistic and nuanced portrayal of modern-day Lakota culture that brims with authenticity and verve by an author who knows her material and doesn’t pull her punches. Alex Turning Hawk and his wife Tate are welcome additions to the world of crime fiction. Dorothy Black Crow deserves to be read and appreciated.” (C.J. Box, NYT bestselling author - Endangered)

˃˃˃ "The Handless Maiden is not like any mystery you have ever read in your life. It takes place in 1977 on the Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation in the Badlands of South Dakota. Here, the memory of the massacre at Wounded Knee in December, 1890 still burns hot in the tribal memory. Here the ghosts of long dead ancestors are still seen walking in the moonlight. Here there are sweat lodge ceremonies that produce astounding visions. And here, 300 FBI agents have been sent to put down a rebellion by a few dozen young Lakota Warriors and they aren’t about to waste their time reading you your rights. Now Tate Turning Hawk, a young woman recently married to a young medicine man and new to the reservation, is led by a ghost she does not believe in to the body of her friend Joanna Joe, brutally murdered and her hands chopped off. The local police and the FBI could care less. Joanna Joe was a trouble maker. It’s up to Tate and her medicine man husband, Alex, to bring justice. They go after the killers the Lakota way, the spiritual way. This is one of those timeless books that stands apart, likely to be read and talked about a hundred years from now." (James N. Frey, international bestselling author - How to Write a Damn Good Mystery)

˃˃˃ "Bravo!" (Cara Black, NYT bestselling author - Aimee Leduc Series)

LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 29, 2014
ISBN9781939051875
The Handless Maiden: A Lakota Mystery
Author

Dorothy Black Crow

An award-winning poet, fiction writer and former professor of literature at Oglala Lakota College and the University of Michigan, author Dorothy Black Crow explores the reality of life on the Pine Ridge Reservation, from her own experience as a woman married to a Lakota Sundance leader, as well as from an outsider's perspective. She writes with a blend of understanding, experience and knowledge.

Related to The Handless Maiden

Related ebooks

Cultural Heritage Fiction For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Handless Maiden

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
4/5

2 ratings1 review

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Handless Maiden is a fascinating read that illuminates a period of time most whites know very little about. I was in high school during the siege at Wounded Knee, and I remember the news coverage making it sound as though AIM was completely in the wrong. Even at that age, I knew that there was a lot more to the story than we were being told. Author Dorothy Black Crow tells some of that story here.This story is compelling and strengthened by the fact that Black Crow splits up her two main characters. Alex Turning Hawk has never lived off the reservation, yet he goes to Rapid City to learn what he can. It's not easy, and he has to learn how to fly beneath local law enforcement's radar to avoid problems. Alex's wife Tate was raised in a city as a white person. She stays behind on the reservation, and her task isn't easy either. Many of her fellow Lakota do not trust her and go out of their way to make her life more difficult. Despite any and all roadblocks put in their paths, Alex and Tate do learn the truth about Joanna's death.As a white, I found reading The Handless Maiden often made me feel like an outsider. I had no problem with that. Some of the Lakota spiritual happenings were difficult for me to accept, and sometimes the language seemed a bit jerky and had abrupt transitions, undoubtedly to show that English was a second language to many of the Lakota in the book. Black Crow pulls no punches in telling us what law enforcement and government officials were doing on the reservation, but this is not a story in which all whites are evil and all Lakota are saints. This is a powerful tale that shows this woman is a writer. I look forward to her next book and recommend this one to any fellow readers who enjoy Native American-themed crime fiction.

Book preview

The Handless Maiden - Dorothy Black Crow

cbook_preview_excerpt.html}}˲G䯔z16ìmte>$-J4rzv *BTU8?Loz9'%2$YGDӷن꛿ԧ}E8q~Cvw]1}迄?P:V5>/U1}xpc5x ⸍.tS39>!zVaSz0Tzg}PCj?GMm747'S])lM k kF>̿G{V_ˏ3?_ۦջfwGg\3\o>4׿~W?>>|/WMg?Pmæ!b{ğtuu_ÿp(@.*TG,}o54_XUTA!\㮂 1L՛눹_+JhSq户_݌ե6: kj1 $ UC!{ ^mK˅jƉۜz9p N!Vpc]5MX*޾ha@a?j:dk]=kC =6MܫǰaB{o?lHg H۷74Kڤm0L5PX#RC`d+d'v|#_(DUgLB_(vN' ʕ9/M Hκz_6wGH쇍xu_y*TG۽5SG3c&2FN~@(Zۈ/(^t뵾'n`9 tuuyn{l2qbxvV޶EK{p~kvaK5WPp8+Mcs)LqHGar57M#> [s F xla|c?Xhʯ_CgKo!N2{dIA V /a{>܍u3L8lK6coaE}= X:KeXpI{gm0XqLlx/ڼk|-N%Ps'$+u#fii?1j/J2xM_)NO>CFN+1q<&baX("P+=||,'W^<A a@(_ˆƿ3 hw>XsxN ݌(h&xVF~#7 [ݞOA`+< i>cop%T}C"+uuiͺ?tCKx`O_0!MhTŞBWɮ?v`7gK 2Og͏`Ŗć8Af|dJ/L;!D졹զ]ǨOB Zǎ>Ox`^eY6C!5fjDfzE9&M\Bv 8<9Mp L'W=Y_[ 6=6=IE0`/Bd"e^A%}HCx$wBv8ne"'7r r6.V-z h%', pmL=£%gǦ=Gi  !_H^Ou2DlW3-e^ E]pus+xGp<>gW2S 0 SbZ`3^4!Jxa xXWY awg$mrUzs p$"Q[@7-$U@&˘AtaV]#D7 &7GH z դ4paן: 9,;1xTj?C,nXq?~i®FA.hx0Wsц|  cf*#MpH3]A/bHrÈ$d=rFF\A*Gyd-M{xLՎg'!s7"ſSz{gNQKVh$yD{i u՟h?"ƆLa-ˊ3Xj~ IS'\Z+1g\exFPh6s(6L>h+Bgbf%UL`%iŏcͯ ձQ@QŴUaD}W,8t)\5 h'0PO{q7Y4%rCA'W4-:Ib& DsYaeL 6LF-R]9'q-~M4*LBOKki^a}GѡAVFG<+Q"S`^3f\b[t-98\1Z ƅ ^%/g2p; ѽ_)VI1W;ç1D Yƌ>ejwl@W|ha UP@P{"0t@z%sYoac\!6 9%|*F\dhn\!'&_.HS3U LzBB#/Mgrp؂NTEB=,݊j4M c|ND _̟kp0Њ}$$gLND|nHD˝ہPk_"sқ-n"\=@/ggDoo? 3N3dG\dѕ)`\<!7zhDStM" pRWdJ=xQhlhе6~J#DFt)#%x NL`Bp$~'%5dP եmI#X .F-QctG9xADF2mT8 g"KfP:OJ fK`kR;SsL<4Pj9XC#톫w+zچ^HЀ7j8 D5)!&a2f ǻr!H6S!n5KxXCl ]19c|9#x!3 GVv4~&pH3v̈ؕ$sK&vZe p?Yd'm!qA%fԑL&_Q` t?=pcj7&gQY= h0o\tr'9SfI,lA?>'61b.y:Jlٯ[#:!~W g{7_8glؑ{aCRwq',-ըpbڠË1s4<tjﴂ/ `Ѯu9שOU@56 0i"J=Oh3X~fd‡H bo?L9GBi8[Ef%gxuؚ v(%=T3}@恐 ?oa/zߙ%P9RM[3L]h&j%i?Tø{a.gfJx:KbbPpv2c24<0#fv v z>1DuNr2Oj9S(ocj3=S:qx6 ][Z_騒 "3%x4H ^0ty0.Ƃ뱘ԏ@E-M7$i:ݞ!JK&'Q*epP^iR𧒛 ^+!}8VHFbסJգQps1#"w>)I b2ΉC mnOT9HWђ7Dc/QF@vf20!UuK4e'p䢐8O<2xOW70kv̸熭 IK/!)+X2[E6'4{wP/)g#=%X"iEswtϽg}; ☀zESW:!}Sb΍@dG&t3)G^t[!+R&g#dagd3)qn UČ>Pn;(?e1;4ozި(nC Y"4_)٤ Qe xXts"<ͺ6328AЀ`֣D2%7qPQg(3nSڎb-)| ՄeîCJ岡{Sr6[7[YNe)2N}x>?!@X' Bp>oeEѭԘ >p0\c߼/˖<`6!wl*\dx֞GNcxuLI$CR Lb`3K.zᔉ5ʦY&CW25$x39De~Wjg:7A1ՂM יvJYɌc>؉@njBnAPC{w8obAnvN'vڜ@0oZVU-^t&Hj,tn1hNkJnlZc!wqAo'8e=!heQLɣ}Μ3CLo3I Er´JfV,eEA9cQa2T^MNŐc[.%I\S\,v>ڼ۳?@CiuIק.}Z:U{#q])kEqFȗ=#4oQz5>1M2XuP 8gޠ@ D%K 1zirX5U^&j4A#XbӛBmn0..h)÷ϓzGG1>=cb5 +R#byrme"9wpʼnУ"gIyYJ\ÁU3dHUQW)m->sf '܉%՗4}޾0~Q IЖlE,g4O!lݧ-F߼^ %DWԢcY )F5T^1eg ᴡvqpS5dIߨ8u=D<>KSWɔ<,D.Pxq; {VV?ucZW8<"X:ŅYzz֬U-glRYON4N^dhcLA1oa׻Ι7l,ثw䝘|G@&ct tjxQ?g)/vWnqO~Bp$" ޢA⋺vM%,ݑ%hWIy̟oϢBzlkOջ7w^/K;tᓢ$k!ۨN=ˡ)V޳N;;瓵0q92 {aTE !vk`qtF-91+gwJ Gb2X[.Z%<_=zѸQ{3 ^,S+g3bkOsY4<6ݘTq OmnUn{XlEaJWRT dk t=ۗgtbjz(|ȝJ]h6ݲ{b£|>7*6odLm3(6 f)тP?E Pw`5nBrb[J|7]K֖IE3$J@I^PN~)xxcyL%\9bG`S)3av+=°'%3 SɵɅNnfv yK3zZ6 &slP]y 1ոXH A׺SUJbX:Eg hr/{(?htA5W5۔UrIЌ򴃓R 6JY~k_<+%x1| I#)[>B{={'IR1Ur\l& N-2K >vn?[ s4R'_^OS" I^y$31׳2lõ^K=ih{4.` xrF8&9hilM:ZXsI J;CttҎ3wN@XpYÎƞnAn'h6H\l@j5anڪy9utdnAuIA޶ސhR'5sX hxX`v4Œ `Tb6'LB;1BLIw-}p۔o|i'ҙ7sLe^4sg>qC`c,Kp 64WH5;nUVnqC c~)Ԥ ;uc[LhI40nwPe&$U>Yu2et`8eסlk+O j R7ҧ+,MBFdhl4& @UݤKԦ6} ͩQ5U|5?Sk,3=G^veQ ~ ϧ \Yc.!I9zNn[וJ-|</%S|1;⠽ݴyKZe+0 49Tfځ]0V-eXǸrءXM,][,FN]BE*\B%?6sb01{葮rq}iZF΂]KP!~ N !3?%ƿ~i*Cs"Is]ʺҝBZ q,',]U®%Tو ' ~o׹[Hr{G=/+!\E)jSo52G]t.^}-L BFucܥ(q_3MA32 :Wڲ GoZ,ō"2[JsUS?FqP}veELMOrL4Fď`McX%g1Cv$_UW3͗X8Y ͨTjJ T)?' 2((ۓ^WB fy^n5qOۜе0k64G⣜6P6ו'U*9]y cgdA_8dwg&J福L)lA'o 6,}hLjPahUZMJ҇%[4{deToL=Ɣ&;R^ߴϴ9Tt'%@r:D#bЊ7!7Co08Y RNRͯ<&[hxbmot|1"Iήu惢$^8fؐO/q[kDnPTVC( O23 o+`^ʤ@&i6bjpm`z?(Ћ7g6Qti]6g멷[~mۦ ^Sz/jm򔜑0\QMK\ .+^W33N`Hƚoo`ji`UQn<^WNzk.9O#P%̗nJ p/E8+5 ~Hfhbҩ!F={ݩMۖ[{S%Qy/HBn jіIܷ2v@3jfu(7&)!@3RlK1j FD>zMMm2.$,C& *(E]B0}&qZ;=h䚧܄ϞM j -ZWoӛ!Oު֋Doeg L$6FRCe/t${2٥V <U6aΩ6]=/x"!~/,?OaE]hb5 =+VaI.z8*<9Ąw@%tyH@`hzqND]wo4X>feEO3ڕ+s0cSO]fHXg9&ޘ{0SSOo`h,iJl ^D=?݆RAznM-.O1؝~q2+R}gCP`99^#w Lo/_ o)&yva sdk3{^ܣ;2%Q,g=Ti#%:ZRt+<|2"k`voXYoi\IwJpA.*\%]72K ՀXt,f& LI6lV~h_N3_; L<_id2tg8pR">М=QbS{nEV+4blk T%l2)@YM~>A cj*w]\^V&o^k`;N37s|9v2C;W܏!%nVEX"rU FS, g?x:{J8`U=mC镵7 _6{6c'OS{^aj֥+~Z#S\hr#)D { jnD8{(K A,71܉WfW湶0qxZC L9.;iDPsvݮ9:+8Œ_7,0PQ{0DDBAfSmv{W3ћ9V٠ZE˽BFAn#Qᘀ^ ҼM-kzc00x8i9w{jQF8Vo-<ʦ=(jI-z(\jbC\e\nΩ?=-J,= Ch_JXdlT^@tU]_U%"kZԺe<:^`wo$Z&I[ZMw~Un(iA!}e\O\-.>նzYp(m%}ݺfwe+{ODϞb;(c4/O%F`:W+pܕy&]YZL'`I(XTil d)y%[2)Р-aA>?=xﻳޭ:5|;YvqsVayb-v'~!cl)~UG/j ofdsp aCʝ2bF"EY7ߊ?ƹ =C3Nںkx-q-q[nӈb;}y@^" dI~ލLvoniA L_h+A_E&F!,RV*_ӑIT;xf,Z+^~p-V>w70` t`v.f`z/1^Δu%IҬ 0.VHh15DOzjK|E2w%NSH~$/Mr)_G~Տ}>)GqB^mEnYG,q^5o1&{}w;fwwMI^JCk
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1