ARC Review: Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove

Mask of the Deer Woman
Author: Laurie L. Dove
Publication: Berkley (January 21, 2025)

Description: To find a missing young woman, the new tribal marshal must also find herself.

At rock bottom following her daughter’s death, ex–Chicago detective Carrie Starr has nowhere to go but back to her roots. Starr’s father never talked much about the reservation where he was raised, but the tribe needs a new marshal as much as Starr needs a place to call home.

In the past decade, too many young women have disappeared from the rez. Some have ended up dead, others just…gone. Now local college student Chenoa Cloud is missing, and Starr falls into an investigation that leaves her drowning in memories of her daughter—the girl she failed to save.

Starr feels lost in this place she thought would welcome her. And when she catches a glimpse of a figure from her father’s stories, with the body of a woman and the antlers of a deer, Starr can’t shake the feeling that the fearsome spirit is watching her, following her.

What she doesn’t know is whether Deer Woman is here to guide her or to seek vengeance for the lost daughters that Starr can never bring home.

My Thoughts: Carrie Starr has just taken a job as marshal on the reservation in Oklahoma that her father came from. She's running from her past and trying to outrun her grief at the death of her seventeen-year-old daughter. She left the Chicago PD under a cloud. Now, she's self-medicating with whiskey and weed.

The BIA has hired her because so many indigenous women are missing or murdered. A dozen or so have disappeared from the reservation where Carrie is working. She arrives to find that another young woman has gone missing. Her mother is certain that foul play is involved. Carrie isn't so sure and doesn't put her all into the investigation. Then the body of another young woman is discovered which ramps up her investigation.

Meanwhile, we also hear part of the story from some other viewpoints including the town mayor and a local rancher who are both depending on an oil company deciding to do some fracking on reservation land and who might have reasons to want the first missing young woman to stay missing. She's investigating the possibility that there is a rare colony of rare beetles somewhere on the reservation. Proving it will scuttle the mayor and rancher's plans and cost them lots and lots of money.

The story was very atmospheric and introspective. It was hard reading about Carrie's grief and seeing her make bad choices. I liked the legend of the Deer Woman which infused the whole story.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.