"Fascinating characters and culture" - review of SILENT ARE THE DEAD

SILENT ARE THE DEAD by DM Rowell (Crooked Lane Books, 2024)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Mud Sawpole recently returned to the Kiowas from her high-powered career and was plunged into the vortex of a crime that nearly consumed her and the tribe. The danger hasn’t gone away—and now, Mud faces an even greater threat. There’s an illegal fracking operation underway that threatens the sanctity of the Kiowas’ ancestral homeland, but there’s also an evil hidden right within the heart of the tribe.

Two Kiowa have been stealing tribal artifacts from needy families, and now the pair of thieves have had a falling out. Not only are there numerous treasures missing—a cherished headdress, sash, and lance, and two of the original Jefferson Peace Medals awarded to the tribe—but there’s a whiff of murder in the air. As Mud and her cousin Denny attempt to retrieve the stolen artifacts, they run headlong into the frackers, who will stop at nothing to get their profits.

Mud retreats to the tribal sweat lodge to garner some insight into the case, and she thinks she finally glimpses the truth. But it’s already too late for one victim — and it looks like Mud is next on the killer’s hit list...

I really enjoyed Native American author DM Rowell's first novel, Never Name the Dead, which introduced Mae "Mud" Sawpole, a member of the Kiowa tribe who'd been building a successful career in Silicon Valley before being called back to Oklahoma only to discover a tribe in disarray, her grandfather missing, and fracking shattering the land. 

First time out Rowell did a good job drawing readers in and seasoning her debut with lots of Kiowa culture and history, balancing action with fascinating characters. Unfortunately she doesn’t strike quite the same balance with this patchier second effort. Sophomore slump? 

Picking up almost immediately after the first book, Silent are the Dead sees Mud keen to return to California to deal with life-changing work deadlines, but dragged into investigating theft of artifacts from the tribal museum, and reports of a body being found.

Overnight, she traverses tribal lands with her cousin Denny, searching for answers, and arguing about who to believe. Some of this gets quite repetitive, in between some really cool set-pieces or moments, and nice insights into Kiowa history and culture. 

Rowell clearly has storytelling talent, and it’s great to have her voice in the mystery genre. However, Silent are the Dead could have perhaps done with some tighter editing. 

While feeling slightly underwhelmed by book two, I'm still interested in the next in the series.

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.