Looking for Smoke

Ages 13 And Up, Grades 8 And Up

Four teens on the Blackfeet Reservation find themselves the suspects of an investigation when a classmate is found murdered during the annual Indian Days celebrations. K.A. Cobell’s compassionate debut thriller casts a light on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women epidemic through a page-turning story that readers won’t be able to put down.

Since moving to the Blackfeet Reservation with her parents, Blackfeet teen Mara Racette has felt like an outsider. So, ?when local girl Loren includes Mara in a traditional Blackfeet giveaway, Mara thinks she’ll finally make some friends.Instead, a girl from the giveaway, Samantha White Tail, is found murdered.Because the four members of the giveaway group were the last to see Samantha alive, each becomes a person of interest in the investigation. And all of them—Mara, Loren, Brody, and Eli—have a complicated history with Samantha.Despite deep mistrust, the four must now take matters into their own hands and clear their names. Even though one of them may be the murderer.In her powerful debut novel, author K. A. Cobell (Blackfeet) weaves loss, betrayal, and complex characters into a mystery that will illuminate, surprise, and engage readers until the final word.

About the Author

K. A. Cobell, Staa’tssipisstaakii, is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation. She currently lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she spends her time writing books, chasing her kids through the never-ending rain, and scouring the inlet beaches for sand dollars and hermit crabs. Looking for Smoke is her debut novel.