The Case of Windy Lake by Michael Hutchinson and narrated by Kaniehtiio Horn is a fantastic middle-grade audiobook that has Indigenous characters and situations at the forefront. There has historically been a lack of books that Indigenous children could relate to. It is difficult for a child when none of the books they read have any characters that look like them and/or who live like they do. For that reason alone, this book and others like it are extremely important.

Also important is the availability of books with Indigenous characters for white children. If they read and enjoy these books, they start to realize that no matter what someone's background or culture is, everyone is basically the same inside.

THE CASE OF WINDY LAKE is the first book in THE MIGHTY MUSKRATS series. The stars of the series are a group of four cousins who are growing up on the fictional Windy Lake First Nation. The four cousins are Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee, and they are well known in their community.

An archeologist visiting and studying at Windy Lake goes missing and the cousins take it upon themselves to figure out what happened to him.

While they search for clues, they encounter environmental protests as well as family issues, but nothing deters these intrepid young sleuths.

I love that this series is set in Canada and on a First Nation. Hopefully through books such as this people will come to see why Truth and Reconciliation is such an important part of repairing the harm done by colonialism to the Indigenous peoples who have lived here since time immemorial.

Upcoming books in THE MIGHTY MUSKRATS SERIES include: Book Two, The Case of the Missing Auntie and Book Three, The Case of the Burgled Bundle and are also available as audiobooks.

I rate THE CASE OF WINDY LAKE as a 5 out of 5 Middle-Grade novel. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

A leisurely paced middle grade mystery; the story moved a bit slow for my tastes. Reminiscent of the classic Nancy Drew books

Somewhat reminiscent of the Boxcar Children, at least in terms of tone. The writing is pretty straightforward. And the mystery isn't very nuanced. There aren't really suspects because it never really feels like a crime. The complexity in this story comes from the side plot - the protest. There we see not only ecological and cultural concerns but also social ones. We understand the concern that mining causes but Hutchinson is careful to point out how sometimes people have no choice. We meet a miner who has taken the only stable job available so he can take care of his family. It takes what could be portrayed as a simple ecological issue and asked us to think about it in a greater context. We also spend a fair amount of time getting to know the community and the roles that individuals play in it, how kids interact with their elders, that sort of thing. The writing is a bit stiff and repetitive at times but it's certainly a series that could shine with future volumes.

I was surprised and delighted to discover that this audiobook is about First Nation kids in Canada. (We call them native Americans here.)

This is a mystery story about four young cousins on the rez (reservation) who are curious and driven to find out the why's and how's.

A professor of Archaeology is missing, and he isn't well liked, (for good reason), so finding him may not be at the top of everyone's list. However, he must be found. And alive would be best.

The children are observant and clever, but they don't pretend they can do everything by themselves, or take dangerous risks.

The group is somewhat reminiscent of The Three Investigators, who had a clubhouse accessed through a junkyard car. And featured the typical group of necessary personality types; tech savy, brainiac, muscle, and in this story, another member.

The kids are tenacious but well mannered, and respectful of elders--as is taught in their culture--and they help their grandfather with chores daily and cheerfully! (This phenomenon alone was worth hearing the book for!)

As a fan of Tony Hillerman's Jim Chee books, it was interesting to experience a life-and-death mystery on a reservation from the children's point of view, and with a more contemporary-feel. (Also a different location and tribe, obviously.)

The secondary story is a familiar one, but handled in an unusual way, and I found that refreshing! There was an emphasis on learning from experiences instead of pointing fingers!

The book itself is carefully written in a more formal style--which elevates descriptions of scenes and actions to a delightful, almost poetic level at some points. Bringing things vividly to life in my mind. At least twice, I thought it would be nice to stop and read a phrase over myself, but I'm very visual and enjoy seeing words.

NOTE: The vocabulary may be a slightly elevated for the age group, but that's how I learned new words! (There's always a pause and skip-back button!)

As an audio book, the story works very well, and I thoroughly enjoyed closing my eyes to visit Windy Lake. I recommend this book to kids, and to adults who enjoyed and miss these types of books in their youth.

I loved the representation in this book. It was refreshing, especially for a middle-grade book. The mystery was really good. But this was not for me and I did not like the narrator

I had seen the series on my store’s shelves and I was curious as to what exactly they were like. The audiobook presented itself as an option and I tried it. The narrator does a pretty good job, the story was enjoyable for the middlegrade age

When a visiting archeologist goes missing, Sam, Otter, Atim and Chickadee 4 cousins, nicknamed the Might Muskrats, from the Windy Lake First Nation, decide they are going to solve this mystery. But there is a lot more going on with this disappearance; does it have to do with The Company (a mining company)? Do we trust the Company?

I enjoyed the story between Denise and her grandfather, this story also reminds me of the protests around DAPL and the keystone pipeline.

Kaniehtiio Horn’s narration is really well done with her first nations accent. The little differences in the accent compared to natives here in the US are noticeable and welcome!

This is a great current story that also brings back my love of a good middle grade mystery. I look forward to the 2nd book in this series coming out this month. I look forward to more mysteries with the Mighty Muskrats!

I also felt like this book could have taken place in North Dakota. It is set in Canada.
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4 Stars
I received this book from the publisher Second Story Press and NetGalley