Why you will enjoy Angeline Boulley's indigenous mysteries

Because I have good friends, I am constantly receiving recommendations for books I might like, and a few years ago, one such friend asked me if I had heard of a book with an Ojibwe protagonist called The Firekeeper's' Daughter. I was immediately intrigued, as I am part of Citizen Potawatomi Nation and the Ojibwe people are culturally related to me as part of the Anishnaabe nations. She let me borrow the audiobook and I began reading the debut novel of Angeline Boulley.

My primary interest was, of course, how the Ojibwe culture and history would be represented, but I wanted to read a good mystery. The author herself compared Daunis to the "indigenous Nancy Drew" and I grew up reading the adventures of Nancy, so I was sold.

Within hours of finishing the first book, I bought a copy of the second book set in this community: Warrior Girl Unearthed. Its protagonist is the niece of the Nancy Drew figure and she has her own detective passion project to reckon with.

It might be selfish of me to want to fill my bookshelves with this author's mysteries. They both tackle serious issues; the first follows drug abuse in Indigenous communities as well as the plight of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. In the second, Perry works tirelessly to find and return artifacts and human remains that have been taken from the nation in the name of educational research. Both storylines opened my eyes not only to the crimes committed but the own voices author opened my eyes to brutally honest perspectives on these problems.

Interwoven into these stories is the lived experience of Indigenous youth. I recognized the teachings and legends that my nation has in common with the Firekeeper families and appreciated how Daunis dedicated her efforts to one of the core teachings of her elders when working to solve the crimes. Daunis' schedule is not dominated by tribal activities, yet she offers sema as part of her daily experience.

Both protagonists are almost painfully intelligent as it leads to both success and peril at times. After reading Perry's story, I remember sending a message to the author to say that she wrote Anishnaabe communities in a way that made me feel like her characters were distant cousins.

Neither book contains caricatures or performative sketches of Indigenous peoples or the world beyond their community. All the characters felt very real, for better or worse, but the stories themselves were for the better.

Boulley's books can be purchased here or at other booksellers.