Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger (review)

In an alternate version of America where the paranormal is the norm, seventeenyear-old Lipan Apache Elatsoe "Ellie" Bride is an aspiring PI (paranormal investigator) with a strong connection to the afterlife, including the ability to raise the dead (usually animals). When her cousin Trevor dies, he appears in Ellie's dreams and names his murderer, which leads Ellie and her family to the mysterious town of Willowbee, Texas to out the town's renowned doctor as a killer. With research help from her best friend—a male cheerleader descended from fae royalty—and her loyal ghost dog, Ellie will get to the bottom of Trevor's death and serve justice, even if she has to infiltrate a horde of vampires and upend centuries-old secrets to do so. This novel has the staples of a riveting mystery, with Ellie hunting down clues and researching old newspapers to crack the case. Little Badger, an enrolled member of the Lipan Apache tribe herself, sensitively portrays the difficulties that Native people face against law enforcement and the bias of the general public. Ellie's family's magic is additionally integrated with their cultural identity, as in the case where her mother revokes an invitation for a vampire based on Lipan Apache people's rightfully owning land in south Texas. Chapter titles are punctuated with cartoonish art in flowy lines with ghostly vibes. Readers who thrive on genre combinations will tear through this intersection of mystery and paranormal fiction.