Review – Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell
Synopsis
Since moving to the Blackfeet Reservation with her parents, Mara Racette has felt like an outsider, taunted by her tight-knit classmates for growing up far away. So, when a local girl includes Mara in a traditional Blackfeet giveaway to honor her missing sister, Mara thinks she’ll finally make some friends.
Instead, a girl from the giveaway, Samantha White Tail, is found murdered.
Because the members of the giveaway group were the last to see Samantha alive, each becomes a person of interest in the investigation:
New-girl Mara, who hated Samantha for being particularly cruel.
Grief-stricken Loren Arnoux, who was Samantha’s best friend until her sister’s disappearance drove a wedge between them.
Class-clown Brody Clark, whose unreciprocated crush on Samantha is an open secret.
And tough-guy Eli First Kill, who has his own complicated history with Samantha.
Despite deep mistrust, the four must now take matters into their own hands and clear their names. Even though one of them may be the murderer.
In her powerful debut novel, Looking for Smoke, author K. A. Cobell (Blackfeet) weaves loss, betrayal, and complex characters into a mystery that will illuminate, surprise, and engage readers until the final word.
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Review
This debut novel from K.A. Cobell depicts the real issue of MMIW – Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. As a member of the Blackfeet Nation, she has an inside look into the tragedy that strikes many indigenous tribes and the women within.
This novel is told from multiple points of view. It helps to round out the story and gain a better perspective on the various characters. I felt compassion for those who were missing or murdered, along with the families and the pain of not knowing what happened to their loved ones.
There is so much information that it is hard to decipher where the truth lies until the end. There are some surprising twists that I didn’t expect. I did appreciate the perspective of the teens. They were not pushed aside for adults who thought they knew better, or at least not all the time. It was good to see how their lives were laid out; it wasn’t all fun and games, and their responsibilities were laid at their feet at a young age.
This may be a YA novel, but it isn’t a light novel. It deals with hard situations for the youth of the community.
We give this book 4 paws up. It might be a book that will capture your attention.
About the Author
K.A. Cobell, Staa’tssipisstaakii, is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation and currently lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she spends her time writing books, chasing her kids through the never-ending rain, and scouring the inlet beaches for sand dollars and hermit crabs. LOOKING FOR SMOKE is her debut novel, released in Summer 2024 from Heartdrum/HarperCollins in the US and Penguin Books in the UK.
