The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

When a Native teenager vanishes from her small town—a place with dark ties to an elite historical society—archaeologist Syd Walker is called to investigate

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

October 2025; Berkley; 978-0593550144
audio, ebook, print (384 pages); suspense

In The Bone Thief, the author addresses several important issues:

1. The ongoing issue of missing indigenous women who have disappeared, and the fact that the police don't spend time looking for them, and there is no justice for these women 
2. White people who misappropriate Indian items from the past 

The author does an excellent job of making these two issues important parts of the story, along with providing a real page-turning mystery.

Syd Walker is an archaeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Rhode Island near the reservation of the Narragansett tribe. When she receives a call that some newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen from a local summer camp, she begins an investigation and finds that Indian artifacts have gone missing in this area for years.  At the same time, she learns that a Native teen girl has disappeared near the camp, and the police refuse to investigate.  Syd learns about the Founders Society, an exclusive club whose members trace their lineage to the first colonists and claim ancestral rights to the land, despite fierce objections from the local tribal community. There is a lot of bad blood between the local Indian tribe and the Founders Club, which believes that any artifacts from the area (which is tribal land) belong to the club. Who is responsible for the missing artifacts, and is there a connection between the stolen items and the disappearance of the local teen?

There are a lot of characters in this book and a lot of intermingled plots, but the end result is a mystery that will keep the reader turning pages.  There was also a lot of information about Indian customs and how the tribes have been treated for centuries.  I enjoyed the storyline and also enjoyed learning more about the history of indigenous people and the way that many of them are still being treated today.

This is the second book in this series. The Blood Sisters was published in 2023.  I read this when it was first published, but I need to read it again and read The Bone Thief again.  I think that I missed some crucial connections.  My opinion is that you should read the two books in order to get maximum enjoyment from The Bone Thief.  I highly recommend both books.

Buy The Bone Thief at  Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us. Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter today! Or Follow Girl Who Reads with Bloglovin. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.