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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
dark
fast-paced
Nail-biting thriller set on Lakota reservation.
Summary:
Virgil Wounded Horse is the person you call to mete out justice where law enforcement fails on the Rosebud Reservation. When a tribal councilman (Ben Short Bear) tasks Virgil with punishing the man (Rick Crow) responsible for the heroine epidemic killing youths on the reservation, Virgil soon finds himself embroiled in an insidious narcotics conspiracy affecting his community more deeply than he could have imagined. Tension escalates when Virgil’s 14-year-old nephew is framed for drug possession and pressured to participate in a precarious sting operation or face 10+ years in federal prison.
Writing:
Overall, the novel’s focus is portraying a community in all its complexities, and the particular issues and dynamics influencing life on a Native American reservation. There are characters like Marie Short Bear, fighting to improve her people’s quality of life while preserving their cultural heritage, contrasted with figures like Ben Short Bear and Rick Crow, who are willing to sabotage their community for their own benefit. And then there are those like Virgil, existing in a liminal space, unsure where they fit in or where they want to go.
Lakota history is essential to the plot, with references to the stolen Six Grandfathers Mountain and lawsuit and the Wounded Knee Massacre. In the Author’s Note, David Heska Wanbli Weiden writes about drawing from personal experience and numerous Lakota authors to shape the novel, and the intentional approach he took to describing Lakota spiritual practices.
Conclusion: 4 stars.
The audiobook was gripping—so much so that the book flew by. Superficially, I enjoyed this story as a thriller, but it is such a multifaceted book, I think a lot of elements went over my head (for example, the significance of Virgil and his sister Sybil’s names—I don’t know my Greek/Roman classics well). This was an exceptional debut novel and David Heska Wanbli Weiden is an author to watch.
Star Criteria:
1: Is the book engaging/enjoyable/entertaining? Yes.
2: Is the book creative? Yes.
3: Does the book offer educational value? Yes, Lakota history and culture, current events, issues impacting Reservation communities.
4. Does the book highlight voices traditionally underrepresented in literature? Yes, Lakota author, nearly all characters are Lakota or members of other Native American nations.
5. Does the book challenge or reinvent existing literary norms and tropes? No.
Trust me. I kept hearing those words.
This unassuming book took me by surprise. I enjoyed so many aspects of this read. Where to begin?
Virgil Wounded Horse - the main character is a hoot, he is a bad ass, he is loyal and hands down, I’d want him on my side for protection.
Drug cartels and a police investigation - the topic. When heroin makes its way onto the reservation and finds Virgil’s nephew Nathan, suddenly things get personal. Yes, this is my weakness. I love me a story of cops chasing bad guys.
Layer on that, Virgil’s ex-girlfriend is enlisted to help find where the drugs are coming from… Of course there’s unfinished business there.
If that wasn’t enough, this is all set in and around the Rosebud Indian Reservation.
“The police are not your friends. Especially the feds. Right now there’s only on person you trust, and you’re looking at him. If you haven’t figured this out yet, Indians get the short end of the stick when it comes to white justice. I’m going to do my damnedest to make sure it doesn’t happen to Nathan.”
All of these ingredients put together made for an intriguingly paced story, and plausible. I read [b:Winter Counts|48678117|Winter Counts|David Heska Wanbli Weiden|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1592246046l/48678117._SY75_.jpg|68991161] thinking this could actually happen. What sealed it for me was Virgil himself. He was torn between embracing his Native heritage and just being true to himself.
I knew then that the Native traditions - the ceremonies, prayers, teachings - were horseshit. I believed I’d be the savior of the family, but all I’d done was make a fool of myself. I vowed that I’d never be tricked again by these empty rituals. From that moment forward, I’d rely upon myself only.
Virgil struggled with his identity and past, but it was refreshing that he never judged others for following tradition. In this world of stereotypes, bullying and abuse, the protagonist brought those two halves of himself together. I wish more people were like him. Respect and support others, even though it might cause internal turmoil to yourself. In the end, good will prevail.
For so long, Rick Crow has been the chief villain of my youth, the one who’d tormented me and made me hate being half-breed. But he might have been just a sad kid who’d been bullied and abused himself.
I loved all the twists and turns. The ending culminating in spectacular fashion. Maybe you’ll figure out what’s going on before it is all revealed. I didn’t try to solve the puzzle, I just read it for entertainment. I ate it up. Adding this to my list of favorites!
This unassuming book took me by surprise. I enjoyed so many aspects of this read. Where to begin?
Virgil Wounded Horse - the main character is a hoot, he is a bad ass, he is loyal and hands down, I’d want him on my side for protection.
Drug cartels and a police investigation - the topic. When heroin makes its way onto the reservation and finds Virgil’s nephew Nathan, suddenly things get personal. Yes, this is my weakness. I love me a story of cops chasing bad guys.
Layer on that, Virgil’s ex-girlfriend is enlisted to help find where the drugs are coming from… Of course there’s unfinished business there.
If that wasn’t enough, this is all set in and around the Rosebud Indian Reservation.
“The police are not your friends. Especially the feds. Right now there’s only on person you trust, and you’re looking at him. If you haven’t figured this out yet, Indians get the short end of the stick when it comes to white justice. I’m going to do my damnedest to make sure it doesn’t happen to Nathan.”
All of these ingredients put together made for an intriguingly paced story, and plausible. I read [b:Winter Counts|48678117|Winter Counts|David Heska Wanbli Weiden|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1592246046l/48678117._SY75_.jpg|68991161] thinking this could actually happen. What sealed it for me was Virgil himself. He was torn between embracing his Native heritage and just being true to himself.
I knew then that the Native traditions - the ceremonies, prayers, teachings - were horseshit. I believed I’d be the savior of the family, but all I’d done was make a fool of myself. I vowed that I’d never be tricked again by these empty rituals. From that moment forward, I’d rely upon myself only.
Virgil struggled with his identity and past, but it was refreshing that he never judged others for following tradition. In this world of stereotypes, bullying and abuse, the protagonist brought those two halves of himself together. I wish more people were like him. Respect and support others, even though it might cause internal turmoil to yourself. In the end, good will prevail.
For so long, Rick Crow has been the chief villain of my youth, the one who’d tormented me and made me hate being half-breed. But he might have been just a sad kid who’d been bullied and abused himself.
I loved all the twists and turns. The ending culminating in spectacular fashion. Maybe you’ll figure out what’s going on before it is all revealed. I didn’t try to solve the puzzle, I just read it for entertainment. I ate it up. Adding this to my list of favorites!
Author David Heska Wanbli Weiden has created a gripping story about the opiod crisis on the haunting Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota: the small houses with backyards full of rusting cars and appliances, the busy bars, the divisive caste system based on the purity of one’s Lakota blood, the bullying, the simmering grievances, the ambitions and aspirations, the temptation of money and the call to the ancient traditions.
Virgil Wounded Horse is the man people turned to when they can’t find justice from tribal police or federal authorities. “A thug for hire,” his former girl friend’s mother sneers. But her husband Ben Short Bear, a member of the tribal council, isn’t above hiring him to go after Rick Crow, a person Short Bear says is bringing heroin to the reservation.
That all gets set aside when Nathan, Virgil’s nephew, first overdoses on heroin and then appears to have filled his school locker with bottles of opiods.
Virgil finds himself forced to work with federal agents who promise to keep 14-year-old Nathan out of a federal adult prison and a possible 10-year, no-parole sentence if Nathan agrees to make a drug buy wearing a recording device. Virgil has no trust for federal agents, but everything to lose if something happens to his nephew.
Virgil is a strong man beset by losses – his parents, his sister killed in a head-on collision caused by a probably drunk driver, and the many, many tragedies brought to him by clients for revenge, retribution or justice. He has little education and no training. Drunken, angry words drove away his former girlfriend Marie Short Bear. He's given up drinking, but he's also given up Lakota beliefs and ceremonies.
Weiden blends old ways and new, loss and recovery to create a mystery in which, while the darkness is never eradicated, it hasn't won yet.
This is a haunting mystery that I greatly enjoyed.
Virgil Wounded Horse is the man people turned to when they can’t find justice from tribal police or federal authorities. “A thug for hire,” his former girl friend’s mother sneers. But her husband Ben Short Bear, a member of the tribal council, isn’t above hiring him to go after Rick Crow, a person Short Bear says is bringing heroin to the reservation.
That all gets set aside when Nathan, Virgil’s nephew, first overdoses on heroin and then appears to have filled his school locker with bottles of opiods.
Virgil finds himself forced to work with federal agents who promise to keep 14-year-old Nathan out of a federal adult prison and a possible 10-year, no-parole sentence if Nathan agrees to make a drug buy wearing a recording device. Virgil has no trust for federal agents, but everything to lose if something happens to his nephew.
Virgil is a strong man beset by losses – his parents, his sister killed in a head-on collision caused by a probably drunk driver, and the many, many tragedies brought to him by clients for revenge, retribution or justice. He has little education and no training. Drunken, angry words drove away his former girlfriend Marie Short Bear. He's given up drinking, but he's also given up Lakota beliefs and ceremonies.
Weiden blends old ways and new, loss and recovery to create a mystery in which, while the darkness is never eradicated, it hasn't won yet.
This is a haunting mystery that I greatly enjoyed.
I found this to be pretty interesting. At times, it felt a little chaotic but the ending really had it all come together nicely.
A great mystery/thriller that delves into the life of the issues of Native lives on reservations and the atrocities and racism that can happen between those people and the "law".
This was a pretty decent debut thriller though what kept me hooked was the insight into tribal law and learning how many victims who live on reservations fall between the cracks because of the dearth of systemic support and because older laws, treaties, & racism affect the legal system there. The lack causes some in the community to turn to people like Virgil, the MC, to enact vigilante justice.
The window into the Lakota's spiritual ceremonies was also nicely done and I felt (somewhat) reassured by the author's note that nothing that hadn't already been revealed by other Lakota authors was brought to light.
The window into the Lakota's spiritual ceremonies was also nicely done and I felt (somewhat) reassured by the author's note that nothing that hadn't already been revealed by other Lakota authors was brought to light.
I wouldn't normally be drawn to a book about drugs and gang crime, but this is about so much more than that. It's not some boring detective procedural. Virgil is such an engaging character to read from, and this was a super readable and entertaining thriller. I love books with a clear sense of place and atmosphere, where the landscape is almost a character in itself. Maybe that's partly why I so often enjoy Indigenous-authored books, the way the land is described. I feel so immersed. I'm also very drawn to these kind of characters, the unfair struggle they have to face but also their love for their way of life. It's both hopeful and heartbreaking.
This isn't really a sad book however, though it does have emotional moments. This is a thriller and I felt tense the whole time, knowing something was gonna go wrong with those damn cocky feds and not knowing if anyone would even survive. I cared about these characters and was rooting for them. The moral grayness of Virgil's occupation just made him more interesting to read from. You can tell he's a good person, and sometimes good people are forced to do bad things, especially when so-called regular channels fail them. Which is definitely the theme of this book and something that resonated hard. We've all felt those moments, maybe when we were bullied at school or treated unfairly at work, imagine being treated like that constantly just because you're Indigenous. Then imagine being treated that way by other Indigenous people because you're half white, or don't fit in in some other way. That's so crazy to me. Why not come together against the common enemy rather than excluding each other?
Also, you know you've lived in Denver if as soon as Virgil asked about visiting an iconic local landmark you knew the women were gonna say "Casa Bonita!" lol. And you know the author has been there the way he describes the awesome atmosphere and the terrible food. (for real tho why don't they just hire a chef that can make actual good Mexican food??)
This book was on my winter TBR, but "winter-counts" actually refers to a traditional Lakota calendar. This isn't really wintry except metaphorically (there is a line about winter ending and the coming of spring at the end). So it would be good to read any time of year. There's also a somewhat open-ending, which might have served to end on a moral question, but I'm hoping means we might get another book about Virgil.
This book is...not good, but in more of a sad and disappointing way than an irritating one. the 2* reviews sum it up
p 270, 311 (good)
extra-textual note at the end
p 270, 311 (good)
extra-textual note at the end
Was excited to read this book and while it would be a fun beach read the lack of character development was disappointing.