Silent are the Dead

A Kiowa woman faces new threats to her tribe and identity while struggling to keep her Silicon Valley business afloat. She must search deep within herself to find answers-and a murderer-in Mary Higgins Clark Award finalist D. M. Rowell's thrilling sequel, perfect for fans of Winter Counts.A Kiowa woman faces new threats to her tribe and identity while struggling to keep her Silicon Valley business afloat. She must search deep within herself to find answers-and a murderer-in Mary Higgins Clark Award finalist D. M. Rowell's thrilling sequel, perfect for fans of Winter Counts.While back on tribal land, Mud Sawpole uncovers an illegal fracking operation underway that threatens the Kiowas' ancestral homeland. But there's an even greater threat- a local businessman involved in artifact thefts is murdered, and a respected tribe elder faces accusation of the crime. After being roped in by her cousin, Denny, they begin to investigate the death while also pursuing evidence to permanently stop frackers from destroying Kiowa land, water, and livelihoods.When answers evade her, Mud heeds her grandfather's and great-aunt's words of wisdom and embraces Kiowa tribal customs to find the answers that she seeks. But her ceremonial sweat leads to a vision with answers wrapped in more questions.Mud and Denny race against the clock to uncover the real killer and must face the knowledge that there may be a traitor-and a murderer-in their midst. It's already too late for one victim-and Mud may be next.

Praise for Silent Are the Dead:
“[Rowell] elegantly threads tangible details about tribal life into the action, which remains propulsive throughout.”
—Publishers Weekly

“An immersive cultural experience with Kiowa culture and language wrapped in a mystery plot.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“[A] deftly crafted and riveting read from start to finish.”
—Midwest Book Review

“Deceit, theft, and murder increase the stakes.”
—Kings River Life

“Silent Are the Dead is the story of one Kiowa storyteller lovingly told by another.”
—J. A. Jance, New York Times bestselling author of Blessing of the Lost Girls

“Mud Sawpole is a favorite new amateur sleuth of our times . . .The specificity in D. M. Rowell’s work shines light on little-known historical facts . . . [and] brings the past alive, deepening knowledge of and empathy for the writer’s people.”
—Naomi Hirahara, Edgar and Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author of the Mas Arai mysteries and the bestselling Japantown mysteries

“A thrilling and character-driven mystery, Silent Are the Dead is D. M. Rowell’s best yet. Mud Sawpole makes for a memorable protagonist that readers will not soon forget, and Rowell’s novel mixes Kiowa culture and a razor-sharp, riveting plot to create a worthy installment in the Mud Sawpole series. I was hooked from page one.”
—Alex Segura, bestselling author of Secret Identity and Alter Ego

“Once again, D. M. Rowell joins Tony Hillerman as a great writer of top mysteries . . . If Killers of the Flower Moon caught your fancy, you won’t want to miss this one!”
—Eric Redman, author of the ITW finalist Bones of Hilo and Death in Hilo

“I love what Rowell is doing with her Mud Sawpole mysteries. Mud is a hero with a foot in two worlds, trying to reconcile her mixed heritage and her absence from home with her calling to be a storyteller for her tribe. The breakneck plotting in Silent Are the Dead involving stolen artifacts and illegal fracking combined with Kiowa culture and traditions makes it hard to put this book down. I can't wait for Mud's next adventure."
—Joshua Moehling, author of And There He Kept Her and Where the Dead Sleep

D. M. Rowell (Koyh Mi O Boy Dah) is an enrolled member of the Kiowa Tribe in Oklahoma. Like her protagonist, Mud, she comes from a long line of Kiowa storytellers within a Plains Indian culture that treasures oral traditions. After a thirty-two-year career spinning stories for Silicon Valley start-ups and corporations, with a few escapes creating award-winning independent documentaries, Rowell started a new chapter writing the Mud Sawpole Mysteries featuring a Silicon Valley professional Kiowa woman solving thefts and murders in Kiowa country. The first in the series, Never Name the Dead was a 2023 Finalist for the Simon & Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award. The second novel in the series, Silent Are the Dead, will be released November 19, 2024.

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