Death in the New Land by Kaye George

Death in the New Land by Kaye George
A People of the Wind Mystery, #3
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Enga Dancing Flower and her tribe have reached a place they can stay in safety. Or have they?

It’s clear the groups of other settlers in the area do not want more neighbors, and this is made even more evident when a male of Enga’s tribe is murdered, and a baby is kidnapped.

The future of the tribe is immediately put into question. Can Enga and her people find the killer and rescue the baby? Or will the security and bright future the tribe has dreamed of fall to pieces?

No one can hide the truth forever.

The mystery was exciting and well done. I appreciated how much time Ms. George spent reintroducing the main characters and explaining how their lives had changed since the events of the previous book. It gave me time to connect with everyone again, remember what I’d previously learned about them, and begin wondering who might be involved in Enga Dancing Flower’s latest case. She was the sort of character who thought carefully about her actions before making decisions, so this was a great decision from a character development perspective as well. Once the pacing picked up, I only became more emotionally invested in who was responsible for the murder and the kidnapping and if they’d be brought to justice. There is so much more I want to say about this, but I don’t want to spoil anything for other readers!

World building is especially important in stories like this one that are set so far in the past. The narrator painted a vivid picture of what life was like for hunter-gatherers in prehistoric times. It was difficult to tear myself away from this world, and I often found myself staying up later than usual or putting off what I could in order to read just a few more pages. There is definitely something to be said for creating such an immersive experience for the reader, and I will eagerly anticipate whatever the author comes up with next based on how many times I’ve enjoyed her world building abilities so far.

My review of Death in the Time of Ice mentioned some trouble I had with getting to know the large cast of characters when they were first introduced. It was a thrill to revisit these characters for the third time now that I know them so well. The periodic reminders of how certain people were connected to each other were helpful, too, as I settled back into their prehistoric society and found out what they had been up to since I last heard from them. I’d like to commend Ms. George for all of the hard work she’s put into developing her characters and giving them time to shine. Her efforts truly paid off here, and they were greatly appreciated by this fan.

This is the third instalment in the People of the Wind series. It is best read in order for character and plot development reasons.

Death in the New Land was well worth the wait. I was delighted by these characters and hope to hear more from them in the future.