Kill Pocahontas

by

Ray Anthony Morris

Absorbing tale of murder and genocide set against the backdrop of Canada’s Indian Residential School tragedies.

Kill Pocahontas by Ray Anthony Morris is a heartbreaking and gripping story of murder, institutionalized abuse, and genocide of indigenous children, using the tragic history of Canada’s Indian Residential Schools as its background. Indigenous attorney Hallee Landry is on her way to the First Nations PowWow and Potlatch when she is abducted, her head shrouded and hands bound behind her back, and shoved into the back of a fleeing Porsche Cayenne, without a clue as to why. She believes it is a case of mistaken identity. However, careless driving, an encounter with a bull moose on a winding mountainous roadway, the subsequent car accident, and the aid of two good Samaritans effect her eventual escape. Safely back and in touch with her PowWow contacts, Hallee is informed of her family’s history, which connects her to the tragic events at the local South Thompson Indian Residential School, of which she was completely unaware. Her existence, her very DNA, irrefutably connects a powerful Roman Catholic Church official directly to the abuse and murder at the school, and he’s not about to go down without doing everything he can to get rid of all evidence. 

This mesmerizing story is told from multiple points of view, both in present time and 50 years in the past, but the main perspective is that of Hallee Landry. She begins the story in complete ignorance of her connection to the notorious school, so Hallee and readers learn of her past at the same time. While the points of view and time periods switch back and forth, they are clearly identified and well told, so there was no confusion as to who was narrating or when events were occurring. 

The book starts with Hallee’s frightening abduction, and it’s a truly riveting opening. The story relates horrific incidents of all manner of abuse against the children at the school and incorporates the history of the government’s residential school policies. Readers sensitive to or triggered by the stated content warnings should take into consideration their tolerance for these issues prior to proceeding with the book. The author further acknowledges that the book contains scenes that may be triggering for First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people, especially victims of abuse at residential schools. In the end, the resolution is hopeful, surprising, and satisfying. 

I recommend KILL POCAHONTAS to readers of thrillers and historical crime fiction. 

CONTENT WARNING: child abuse, child sexual abuse, racism, racial subjugation, racial slurs, murder, kidnapping, hatred, violence, bullying, drug use, fentanyl. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tours.