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Ten years after the massacre of more than two hundred Lakota men, women, and children at Wounded Knee, J.B. Bennett, a white rancher, and Star, a young Native American woman, are murdered in a remote meadow on J.B.’s land. The deaths bring together the scattered members of the Bennett family: J.B.’s cunning and hard father, Drum; his estranged wife, Dulcinea; and his teenage sons, Cullen and Hayward. As the mystery of these twin deaths unfolds, the history of the dysfunctional Bennetts and their damning secrets is revealed, exposing the conflicted heart of a nation caught between past and future.
At the center of The Bones of Paradise are two remarkable women. Dulcinea yearns for redemption and the courage to mend her broken family and reclaim the land that is rightfully hers. Rose, scarred by the terrible slaughters that have decimated and dislocated her people, struggles to accept the death of her sister, Star, and refuses to rest until she is avenged.
Jonis Agee’s bold novel is a panorama of America at the dawn of a new century and the durable men and women who dared to tame it.
“Deceptively leisurely, intensely heart-rending . . . Rose and Dulcinea are women strong enough to cow John Wayne.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Deadwood has nothing on Nebraska’s Sand Hills. Jonis Agee serves up a gritty, bloody romance.” —Stewart O'Nan, bestselling author of A Prayer for the Dying
“The finest western novel since Lonesome Dove . . . an epic saga with elements of a Greek tragedy.” —New York Journal of Books
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 16, 2024 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780062413499
- File size: 794 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780062413499
- File size: 1227 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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June 6, 2016
Agee’s (The River Wife) emotionally rich tale is as wild and sprawling as the Midwestern plains. This is the Nebraska Sandhills a decade after the army’s massacre of more than 200 Lakota at Wounded Knee in 1890. When middle-aged white rancher J.B. Bennett and the younger Native American Star are murdered, apparently together, their families collide. J.B.’s wife, Dulcinea, estranged from her sons through the machinations of his J.B.’s father, Drum, seeks reconciliation with her boys even as she wrestles to maintain rights to the ranch that Drum wants back, no matter the means. Meanwhile, Rose’s efforts to solve the murder of her sister, Star, threaten her long friendship with Dulcinea. The evolving friendship of Dulcinea and Rose is a poignant counterpoint to the cruelties born of ignorance and greed in the face of cultural difference. The story’s several parts—gritty Western, family saga, mystery—work together for a memorable tale of heartbreak and redemption. Agent: Emma Sweeney, Emma Sweeny Agency. -
June 15, 2016
The Sand Hills of 1890s Nebraska are a harsh, demanding place. Rancher J.B. Bennett is trying his best to flourish in adverse conditions, despite his controlling father, absent wife, and estranged son. But he doesn't get much of a chance; within the novel's first few pages, he finds a murdered Lakota woman on his land. Unfortunately for him the killer is still around to get rid of any witnesses. These two murders set the tone for this historical saga. Dulcinea, the absent wife, returns to avenge J.B. and reconcile with her sons, but it is not as easy as she had hoped. Meanwhile, her friend Rose investigates the death of her sister, the Lakota woman killed alongside J.B. The roots of these events lie in the decade-old horrors of the massacre of more than 200 Lakota people at Wounded Knee. With larger-than-life personalities, sudden violence, and the relentless influence of landscape and weather, this Western by the author of The River Wife is an evocative story of survival, and the lengths people will go to for wealth and property. VERDICT With strong historical content as well as a murder mystery, family dysfunction, and a hint of romance, there is plenty here to keep readers satisfied. [See Prepub Alert, 2/21/16; library marketing.]--Melanie Kindrachuk, Stratford P.L., Ont.
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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