Cherokee author Vanessa Lillie brings Native history into the heart of a new mystery thriller

By Cherokee 411 Staff

Cherokee Nation author Vanessa Lillie continues to blend Indigenous history with modern suspense in her latest novel, The Bone Thief, a sequel to her breakout thriller Blood Sisters. The book follows Syd Walker, a Cherokee archaeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, who is pulled into an investigation after skeletal remains vanish from local burial sites and a Native teenager goes missing near a historic camp linked to an elite group known as the Founders Society.

Photo courtesy Gaby Valasquez/ El Paso Times

Lillie, who lives in Rhode Island, said her work begins with curiosity about the Native nations around her and the histories long overlooked in American storytelling.

“Native American Heritage Month is a time to celebrate, not just our voices, but our creativity,” she said. “These are the first peoples of this land. Connecting through stories, music, fashion, and history matters.”

The Bone Thief draws on Cherokee history as well as Lillie’s research into the Narragansett Tribe, whose 17th-century Great Swamp Massacre echoes the trauma of the Cherokee Trail of Tears. Lillie weaves both into the novel’s examination of cultural erasure, archaeology, and who controls the narratives around Indigenous communities.

She also incorporates her own family story. “Publishing has limited seats for Indigenous authors,” Lillie said. “I wanted to make sure the seat I’m taking is mine. Walker is my family name, my ancestors were on the Trail of Tears.”

Though a thriller, the book includes chapters set at the centuries-old Narragansett Powwow, which Lillie calls “the longest-running powwow in the country.” Researching the tribe’s history became the engine of the story, she said.

Lillie toured nationally following the book’s Oct. 28 release, appearing with fellow Cherokee author Eliana Ramage, whose debut novel To the Moon and Back follows a Cherokee woman determined to become the first Native American astronaut.

Lillie hopes her work encourages readers to look deeper into the Native nations around them.

“There are hundreds of tribes in North America,” she said. “Even being Cherokee, there is so much I’m still learning. If readers finish The Bone Thief curious about the tribes where they live—past and present—then the story has done its job.”