Stolen Butterfly

Gabriel Hawke Novel

By: Paty Jager

Narrated by: Larry Gorman

Stolen Butterfly

Gabriel Hawke, Novel Number Seven

Missing or murdered

When the local authorities tell State Trooper Gabriel Hawke’s mother to wait 72 hours before reporting a missing Umatilla woman, she calls her son and rallies members of the community to search.

Hawke arrives at the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation and learns the single mother of a boy his mom watches would never leave her son. Angered over how the local officials respond to his investigating, Hawke teams up with a security guard at the Indian casino and an FBI agent. Following the leads, they discover the woman was targeted by a human trafficking ring at the Spotted Pony Casino.

Hawke, Dela Alvaro, and FBI Special Agent Quinn Pierce join forces to bring the woman home and close down the trafficking operation before someone else goes missing.

©2021 Patricia Jager (P)2021 Patricia Jager

Well done

This is an excellent mystery that is too close to the bone (as it were). The publisher's blurb tells a bit, but skirts the issues of insensitive law enforcement (the bad cops of any stripe). The story brings the reality out into the light, and touches on the problems of domestic violence before heading right into the serious issues of human trafficking. It also clearly delineates the difference between cops who are there for the paycheck and those who are wholly into The Job. It is a painful and meaningful tale that reminds me why I prefer fiction to certain aspects of reality. It's also worth noting the importance of the solidarity of tribal family as clearly highlighted in the story.
There is a great campaign in Canada by The First Nations (including Two First Nations women have launched a class action against Ottawa alleging widespread systemic racism in various federal Indigenous agencies and departments. (9-14-2021), in the US there is the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women's movement, the DOJ for the Not Invisible Act, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign against human trafficking. I do not apologize for the rant.
Larry Gorman is great as narrator with his laid back interpretation that only seems to emphasize points being made by the author.