The Redbird’s Cry

“The redbird is the daughter of the Sun. And if she had been brought home safely, the people could have brought back their friends from the ghost country..”. The tale of the redbird explains the origin of death in Cherokee myth, and it is a story intricately woven into the rich fabric of this remarkable new Molly Bearpaw mystery. Following the acclaimed debut work in this series, Ravenmocker, The Redbird’s Cry solidifies the reputation of Jean Hager, a veteran writer drawing upon a unique contemporary setting and featuring a resilient new heroine. It is autumn in Oklahoma. The woods are strewn with hackberry leaves, and a chill is in the air. For Molly Bearpaw, an investigator for the Native American Advocacy League, it is a lovely time of year, while for her elderly grandmother, it is a time of foreboding. When a terrible crime is committed at the Cherokee National Museum, it fulfills the old woman’s worst premonitions and plunges Molly into a struggle for the truth. At the museum, amidst looms and basket weavings, a bright young lawyer is struck down in a crowd, the victim of a poisoned dart. Is the killer a troubled teenager? If so, was he the pawn of someone more powerful? Molly Bearpaw and Deputy D. J. Kennedy strongly suspect the involvement of the hot-headed leader of the True Echota Band, a group involved in lawsuits against the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Soon Molly is trying to solve not just a murder, but a whole string of crimes. Then when priceless, ancient wampum belts, relics whose powers frighten many traditional Cherokees, are stolen from the museum following the murder, she is sure the murder was caused by something far greater than a personal vendetta. Redbird’s Crydelves into the real-life trials and tribulations of the modern Oklahoma Cherokees. With Hager’s deft characterizations, strong plotting, and Molly Bearpaw’s resourcefulness and complexity, The Redbird’s Cry is a gripping mystery – and a brilliant successor to Ravenmocker.