Silent Are the Dead

A Kiowa woman faces new threats to her tribe and identity while struggling to keep her Silicon Valley business afloat. She must search deep within herself to find answers--and a murderer--in Mary Higgins Clark Award finalist D. M. Rowell’s thrilling sequel, perfect for fans of Winter Counts.

While back on tribal land, Mud Sawpole uncovers an illegal fracking operation underway that threatens the Kiowas’ ancestral homeland. But there’s an even greater threat: a local businessman involved in artifact thefts is murdered, and a respected tribe elder faces accusation of the crime. After being roped in by her cousin, Denny, they begin to investigate the death while also pursuing evidence to permanently stop frackers from destroying Kiowa land, water, and livelihoods.

When answers evade her, Mud heeds her grandfather’s and great-aunt’s words of wisdom and embraces Kiowa tribal customs to find the answers that she seeks. But her ceremonial sweat leads to a vision with answers wrapped in more questions.

Mud and Denny race against the clock to uncover the real killer and must face the knowledge that there may be a traitor--and a murderer--in their midst. It’s already too late for one victim--and Mud may be next.

D.M. Rowell (Koyh Mi O Boy Dah) Like her protagonist Mud, Rowell comes from a long line of Kiowa Storytellers. After a thirty-two-year career spinning stories for Silicon Valley startups and corporations with a few escapes creating award-winning independent documentaries, Rowell started a new chapter writing mysteries that share information about her Plains Indian tribe, the Kiowas. Her debut book, Never Name the Dead, was a Mary Higgins Clark nominee. She enjoys life in California with her partner of thirty-seven years, their son and a feral gray cat.