The Bone Thief

In Lillie’s potent sequel to Blood Sisters, Cherokee archaeologist Syd Walker probes a constellation of cases rooted in centuries-old tensions between Native Americans and European colonizers. After her boss retires and she’s promoted within the Rhode Island Bureau of Indian Affairs, Syd receives a startling voicemail on her predecessor’s phone: “We found the remains at the back of the camp.” The caller, it turns out, works at Camp Quahog, a summer camp run by the Founders Society, whose members trace their ancestry back to the Mayflower. Syd heads to the camp and identifies the remains as those of a female baby who died 300 years earlier. Then the remains vanish, and Syd learns that it’s just the latest in a series of similar disappearances. Meanwhile, a young Native woman—and former BIA intern—named Naomi is reported missing. As Syd investigates the thefts and tries to track down Naomi, she uncovers dark secrets about the Founders Society that suggest foul play. Lillie goes even deeper and darker than she did in the previous installment, folding powerful questions about who gets to write history into a crackling mystery plot. This series has legs. Agent: Jamie Carr, Book Group. (Oct.)