K.A. Cobell’s debut thriller, Looking for Smoke, hit shelves earlier this year, bringing violence against Indigenous women to the attention of mystery readers. The young adult novel follows Blackfeet teens – loner Mara, grief-stricken Loren, snarky Brody, and stoic Eli – in the wake of a disappearance and a murder on their reservation. The teen narrators are the last to see the victims, and when the police do not treat the cases with urgency, they work together to clear their names and find the true killer. But could it be one of them?
While critics have praised Cobell’s dynamic characters, I only found Eli to be especially fresh and fleshed-out. He presents as a mysterious tough guy, but readers learn of both the burden and love he carries as he raises while raising his kid sister. Characters like Eli are often cast as love interests, so I enjoyed hearing from this type of character as a protagonist.
On the other hand, I would have loved to know more about Loren and Mara beyond how the crimes impacted their lives, and Brody just annoyed me from the beginning, so his development did not have much of an emotional impact on me. And who was Brody’s love interest? Samantha the victim, or Loren? That’s one of several loose ends, along with ‘the disappearing drugs’ as my book club called them.
Then again, Cobell had her work cut out for her when she chose to write a whodunit from multiple perspectives. It was hard to suspect the narrators because I was literally reading their thoughts, but Cobell avoided awkwardness and managed a surprising twist. I, for one, did not see it coming and even felt certain it was several other characters at times. She expertly adds another twist after the characters are finally finding closure as well.
The overall setting is a little vague. Readers know it is summer, but summer before what school year? What is the reservation like? How are rezes different from other land? I did not learn this from reading, but Cobell’s imagery in specific scenes is crystal clear. The vibrant description of an Indian days celebration on the first page hooked me.
Above all, Murdered & Missing Indigenous Women & Girls (MMIW) is an overlooked, important issue, and I am so glad Cobell explores it here. For those who do not know, Indigenous women are 10x more likely to be murdered than women of other ethnicities, but so many MMIW cases go unsolved. Cobell provides information on MMIW through transcribed podcast episodes that propel the story. Plus, the publisher, Heartdrum, is a Native-focused imprint of HarperCollins, so readers know where to find more Indigenous representation in general.
Looking for Smoke by K. A. Cobell is a unique debut mystery that makes up for a few flaws in its writing and relevance. I look forward to Cobell’s upcoming works.
