An interesting and heartbreaking read. Tina’s life was so short. Her death is so tragic. Joanna has obviously put a lot of research into this book. It is great that it has been written. More awareness needs to be raised about the number of Indigenous women who are murdered in Canada. This is a heartbreaking story that needs to be heard.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

3.5 rounded down

Joanna Jolly's debut draws attention to a societal issue which is gradually gaining more press: the murder of Indigenous girls and woman in Canada. Red River Girl takes its title from the Winnipeg river in which 14-year-old Tina Fontaine's body was found in August 2014.

Tina was raised over 100km from Winnipeg, on the Sagkeeng First Nation. The book tracks Tina's life from birth to her last known movements in the days before her death, going some way to examine how Tina went from being a teenager growing up in a loving family to one who ended up involved in drugs and the sex trade. It also details the deaths of other First Nations women in Canada, culminating in Justin Trudeau's independent inquiry into violence against and murder off Indigenous women in 2017.

Overall the book makes for a compelling read, however there were a few aspects that let it down slightly for me. I would have liked to have known more about Tina herself, as the only real perspective we get on her life is from her great aunt and an ex-boyfriend. I also found the sections on the accused, Raymond Cormier, to be bit protracted, but with no other key suspects I understand why the book focused on him.

On August 7th 2014 when the Red River, Winnipeg, Canada was being searched for a missing man – the police were alerted to the discovery of another body. On investigation it turned out to be 15 year old Tina Fontaine – her body had been tied in a duvet cover and dumped in the river – a notorious place for the discovery of dumped bodies. The post mortem showed no evidence of how she had died, but it could not have been natural. Experienced police officer Sergeant John O’Donovan was selected to head up the murder team. He is probably noteworthy for the change to a more sympathetic response to victims themselves caught up in crime. After probably the most extensive investigations then held into an individual killing on January 29th 2018 Raymond Cormier – a serial convict - was tried for her second degree murder. He would be found not guilty and walked free.
Joanne Jolly was working for the BBC when this case came to her attention and she ultimately ended up investigating – including speaking to Cormier while he was in prison on remand. He would not admit to the murder, but eventually talked a little bit about his links with Tina. She felt compelled to write this book about Tina, her life and death, the investigation and trial. But more importantly behind this serious matter she highlights the importance of this death and case in the wider political context of the extraordinarily rampant numbers of young indigenous women in Canada who were either killed early or were “disappeared”. The scale of the problem was being protested by an increasing number of women activists in the community but to seemingly little effect.
As this case was progressed the wider rising awareness of the seriousness of the situation would lead to increased media profile on the extent of this disgraceful situation – and would lead to pressure for change in police response to vulnerable young women many of them of the indigenous populations. The irony of the facts around Tina is that she had a seriously concerned foster mother, but she came from an otherwise chaotic family deeply imbedded in drug culture. When Tina went to be with them in Winnipeg she thus became embedded in this dangerous culture and was increasingly subject to sexual exploitation – often by paedophiles operating with apparent impunity. As a minor and runaway Tina was on the radar of the protective services – but their procedures were insufficient to keep her safe in spite of numerous alerts. She was able to slip through this “safety net” on a regular basis. Ultimately she would die and be dumped like rubbish.
This is a really important book to read, but not a comfortable one in any way. The violence, the failure of procedures for safety and the sheer extent of the violence against young and not s young women – as well as the collateral damage to the wider families. Jolly’s skill is to show that this is a deeply embedded problem – one that cannot be easily resolved as the underlying linked issues are so broad, serious and deeply embedded. Yes, there is the issue of lack of respect for failing indigenous communities, but there is also urban poverty and blight. There is massive drug and alcohol abuse involving serious organised crime that is often gang based and behind all this is the sex trade that does not exclude minors – in fact seems to exploit them in a particular abusive manner. But she presents all this detailed information in a way to keep you reading, because she is fully aware behind all the problems there are people – people who are important and deserve considerably more. All intelligent adults should read this book to become aware of the depth of the problem and the need to do more. This might be concentrating on Canada, but similar levels of violence and abuse can develop in communities all over the world if regular and respectful communities are allowed to collapse.

The basic idea of this book appealed to me a lot. Essentially it looks at the way native indigenous people and particularly women, have been treated in Canada. The other thread in this is the case of Tina Fontaine, an indigenous teenage girl, who went missing in 2014. The author had access to both the police and their case regarding Tina's disappearance. It was the case that finally brought a far deeper consciousness of the problem not only in the native community but also in the wider (and white) public. For me there was a feel of the Lawrence case in the UK in this.

Tina's case was handled mainly by Sergeant John O'Donovan. O'Donovan emigrated to Canada from Ireland at 28 and never intended to become a policeman. It felt to me that he was not part of the core establishment in some ways. Certainly there had been plenty of deaths of native people, particularly female and young, which the police had taken little interest in. This case bothered O'Donovan and it also raised awareness of the topic generally in the eyes of the public at large.

The book looks at the general treatment of indigenous females in some detail. It quickly becomes apparent that there is a long history of ignoring crimes against native women generally. Frequently the blame is simply placed on their "lifestyles" and not investigated. Given that these crimes include murder and rape it amazed me that there had not been far more outcry earlier.

Tina's murder was a sad story. Family issues coupled with teenage life and angst seem to have left her angry and vulnerable. The police find a credible suspect quite early on. However there is a lack of real evidence against him. Those who expect a satisfactory crime thriller will not find it in this. The whole police case is fraught with difficulties. Given that this is a real and powerful story at times it's sad that the police case is not the strongest.

On balance I'm very pleased I read this. The story needed telling. In my simple opinion Canadian society seems to have been disinterested in crimes against native women. This case appears to have changed that at least. I'd prefer not to give anything else away as others will find this a worthwhile read. Frankly I'm not quite sure how to rate this. Indeed I'm not sure who the target audience is. My feeling is that if the topic interests you then it should be a good read. It is a little detailed in places however I kept reading happily. A sad story but one that needed telling.

Simply put, Red River Girl is the true account of a young girl's murder (Tina Fontaine) and the following Police investigation. However, there is nothing simple about this case. Wrought with tension, racism, and the failure of various services the book explores every aspect of the murder investigation with a brutal honesty.
My initial feelings were shock and sadness, which soon turned to anger, as I'm sure happened to the people in Tina's community on a much bigger scale. I was shocked to read that people were surprised and impressed that the Police Sergeant, John O'Donovan, spoke with empathy, compassion and anger with regards to Tina's murder. A child being murdered is heartbreaking and someone speaking like John O'Donovan did should never be a rare event that surprises people. It should be the norm, how EVERY murder victim is spoken about. Yet, despite numerous murders of similar young women and children over a couple of decades, this DID come as a surprise to the community, which goes to show how these crimes and victims had been viewed in the past. And as a parent myself I felt incredible sadness thinking about all the families of the murdered girls and women mentioned in the book. I can't even begin to imagine how all those parents felt over the years to have not only lost a child, but to have lost them in such a horrific and needless way that is then dismissed or played down by the services who are meant to help and protect them.
As the book went on the failure of several services such as the Police and Child and Family Services were shown to have failed to protect vulnerable young people. There had been several missed opportunities by these services to intervene and help Tina. This repeated failure of services made me angry. If they had done their job better would she have still been alive today? It's awful to think about Tina's suffering as an outsider, so imagine how much worse it must be for her family and friends to think about it.
Most of the young girls and women murdered or living vulnerable chaotic lives were runaways, drug users, sex workers etc and the message throughout the whole book is that the focus in cases like this should move away from blaming the victim. These girls end up living those lives due to all sorts of problems such as abuse in the home, poverty, peers etc and they definitely DO NOT deserve to be murdered! It is NOT their own fault! This is the biggest takeaway from the book, and one that I feel most people would recognise as happening within their own communities at times.
Overall the book was incredibly well written despite the sensitive, and in some cases controversial, topics that it covers. It does a fantastic job of looking at all aspects of the crime including the background of the community in a way that is interesting and easy to understand. It was one of those books that I didn't want to put down and thought about when I wasn't reading.

Red River Girl by Joanna Jolly is the story of the murder of teenager Tina Fontaine in Winnipeg,Canada in 2014 . Tina was found tied in a duvet cover in the Red River of the title. When the police eventually have a suspect they set up a rather convoluted,and not a little bizarre,undercover operation that leads to his arrest and eventual trial.
As well as Tina's fate the book tells us of the ongoing disappearances and murders of young Indigenous women in Canada and the seeming lack of interest in their fate, to a degree that a National Inquiry came up with the damning verdict that the country was complicit in "raced based genocide " against Indigenous women.. I suspect that as I did before reading this many will have an idealised view of Canada and will be shocked at the conditions of the Indigenous Reserves in the 21st century.This is a superbly researched book and Joanna Jolly has interviewed the main police figures involved,the suspect and Tina's friends and family amongst others in a fascinating and very well-written book. I read it in a couple of days, one of those books that has you rushing meals and leaving household chores to continue...so add "involving " to the list as well.
Quite a grim read in many ways, Tina's story is more tragic for knowing that with the attitudes and abuse directed at young Indigenous women and girls it's by no means a unique one.
Tina's legacy however is more positive in that hers was the first murder that forced Canada to address what was going on and at least start to make changes.

Many thanks to Joanna Jolly. Virago and Netgalley for a great book in return for an honest review.

Fantastic true crime book written by the BBCs Joanna Jolly that also gives a revealing insight into the interplay of race, class and misogyny in the experiences of Canada's indigenous peoples. I had heard nothing of the murder of Tina Fontaine and was stunned to read here about conditions on the reserves, the appalling treatment of women and children and the apparent insouciance of Canadian authorities to the daily brutal injuustices faced by - in particular - indigenous women. Truly shocking.

I have huge regard for the excellent journal;ism in this book. The prose is sparse, clean and never manipulative. Highly recommended

This majority of the book is a procedural about the murder of Tina Fontaine, a 15 year old indigenous school girl. The book focuses on the investigation to catch (some may say entrap) the main suspect.

There is little awareness about the murder and disappearance of Canadian indigenous women and girls and this book will help bring this issue to a wider audience. The book does explore some of the reasons behind the intersection of racism and misogyny leading to this desperate situation. I would like to have learned more about this. I would also like to have heard more from indigenous women about their experiences and how they are fighting against the racism and misogynistic culture that has silenced them for so long.

Thanks to Netgally for an advance copy of the book.

I read this book over the course of a few days and found the fairly complex story of the murder and the subsequent undercover operation by police to be very clearly laid out and explained very well. Joanna Jolly is a writer of straightforward and informative prose, which suits the subject matter very well. Although she touches on the national upset caused by this murder she does not overly emote nor does she criticise those who attempted to cash in and gain political or personal mileage by co-opting this tragic case.

I found the large section on the 'Mr Big' sting to be very interesting and, as a Brit, was amazed that a first world country allows an operation which is clearly designed to persuade or coerce someone into making a confession has any merit in a court of law. Its very bizarre that a court of law would allow such operations to be used as evidence when the defence can easily shrug its shoulders and say their client was flexing to try and fit in with the supposed gangsters.

This is an interesting book which, as I mentioned before, is written in an accessibly and straightforward manner. This is not a criticism, the style is perfectly suited to the subject matter and I look forward to reading Jolly's next book.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Little Brown Book Group UK - Virago, for the ARC.
This is just such an interesting read and certainly opened my eyes to the dark heart of Canada - I had no idea.
A true crime investigation by a BBC journalist exposing the abhorrent treatment of indigenous women and girls, in particular, (although males were subjected to abuse and attacks as well), with what seemed to be an acceptance by those in authority that disappearances, attacks and murders of these people were not worthy of proper investigation and the bringing of the perpetrators to justice.

One case in particular sowed the seed of change: in August 2014 fifteen year old Tina Fontaine was discovered on the shore of the Red River in Winnipeg. She was trussed-up in a duvet cover where rocks had been added to keep her submerged. However, whilst a search of the river for a local hero was in full-swing, her body was disturbed and came to the surface.
Head of the Homicide Unit, Det.Sgt.John O'Donovan, at his press conference, was passionate and emotional about this young girl's killing and made sure everyone knew she was a victim - whether indigenous or not.

Joanna Jolly takes us through the investigation from first-hand accounts and research. When Raymond Cormier went on trial, DS O'Donovan said "the evidence seemed compelling and conclusive but it was circumstantial and weak". No-one has been found guilty of Tina's murder. Cormier maintains his innocence.

This is fascinating and heart-breaking at the same time. We learn of the deprivations of the Reserves, the callous removal of children to abusive boarding schools, a heavy-handed and nonchalant social services sector, and years of the authorities believing the indigenous population's children should be stripped of their ancestry and traditions.

Good investigative journalism, very informative.

This powerful investigative account of the treatment of indigenous women and girls in Canada is told through the murder of Tina Fontaine.
Tina’s body was washed up in the Red River, tied up in a duvet cover, and BBC journalist Jolly pieces together her life and death.
Jolly achieves a perfect blend of focus on Tina’s short life and the trial of a prime suspect for her murder, and the wider problem. The horrendous numbers of indigenous women disappeared in Canada is shocking, and this sensitive account shows the human face of these tragedies.
Most touching is the love of Tina’s foster carer Thelma and her quest to see justice for her.
This book works especially well as Jolly writes well and the story has pace and tension: will justice be served for Tina?
Recommended for those who enjoy investigative journalism, police procedural and human stories carefully told.