Native American communities have struggled for decades with high rates of assault, abduction, and the murder of women. Currently, more than 200 Native Americans from New Mexico and the Navajo Nation are missing and being investigated by the FBI.
The new novel by Joyce Phillips, Stolen Sisters, tells about one young Navajo woman who was abducted from an Albuquerque Mall while shopping for a prom dress. Salli Li, is horrified when her daughter calls from the Navajo Nation and sobs into the phone, “Mom, Chooli’s gone!”
Salli jumps into action to save her granddaughter, enlisting the aid of a Navajo shaman and a team of student hackers. Her hunt for clues takes her to isolated areas of the southwest desert where she participates in a sweat lodge, visits an ancient kiva, and explores mountain caves in a desperate search to find Chooli before her abductors sell her into slavery.
Stolen Sisters is a fast-paced adventure set against the background of modern Native American culture in the Southwest.
Author Phillips who lives in Cape Cod, but frequently visits the Southwest to research her books, added a personal note when I spoke to her about Stolen Sisters.
“While writing this book, my son died unexpectedly. The grief of the mothers, grandmothers and daughters in my story became achingly real as my sorrow entwined with theirs. I believe my novel will speak to those moved by the plight of missing and abducted women.”
A story for our time, Stolen Sisters is available on Amazon and can also be ordered through bookstores.
