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    Winter Counts: A Novel
    Winter Counts: A Novel
    Winter Counts: A Novel
    Audiobook8 hours

    Winter Counts: A Novel

    Written by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

    Narrated by Darrell Dennis

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    An addictive and groundbreaking debut thriller set on a Native American reservation and hailed by CJ Box as ""a hell of a debut""

    ""Winter Counts is both a propulsive crime novel and a wonderfully informative book."" —Louise Erdrich

    Virgil Wounded Horse is the local enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.  When justice is denied by the American legal system or the tribal council, Virgil is hired to deliver his own punishment, the kind that’s hard to forget. But when heroin makes its way into the reservation and finds Virgil’s own nephew, his vigilantism suddenly becomes personal. He enlists the help of his ex-girlfriend and sets out to learn where the drugs are coming from, and how to make them stop.

    They follow a lead to Denver and find that drug cartels are rapidly expanding and forming new and terrifying alliances. And back on the reservation, a new tribal council initiative raises uncomfortable questions about money and power. As Virgil starts to link the pieces together, he must face his own demons and reclaim his Native identity. He realizes that being a Native American in the twenty-first century comes at an incredible cost.

    Winter Counts is a tour-de-force of crime fiction, a bracingly honest look at a long-ignored part of American life, and a twisting, turning story that’s as deeply rendered as it is thrilling.

    Editor's Note

    #OwnVoices knockout…

    A “fists-for-hire” vigilante takes justice into his own hands when the broken legal system fails his Native American reservation community in this #OwnVoices knockout. Tommy Orange calls “Winter Counts” “a thriller with a beating heart and jagged teeth … and a testament to just how much a crime novel can achieve.”

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateAug 25, 2020
    ISBN9780063006126
    Author

    David Heska Wanbli Weiden

    David Heska Wanbli Weiden is an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation and received his MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts. He was a MacDowell Fellow, a Tin House Scholar and the recipient of PEN America’s Writing for Justice Fellowship. A lawyer and professor, he lives in Denver, Colorado, with his family.

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    Reviews for Winter Counts

    4/5

    414 ratings29 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Virgil Wounded Horse is a Native American vigilante, righting wrongs on his reservation where justice is often not met. When Virgil’s nephew gets caught up in some messy business it’s up to Virgil to set things straight. I really enjoyed reading about Native American traditions and customs. While the writing & story was pretty basic, I still found this book engaging and informative. #OwnVoices great narration

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      The author does a good job of putting himself into the character of a Lakota ‘enforcer’.He creates relationships and their complexity to bring the characters to life. I don’t completely get the title but know a Dakota winter is harsh.
    • 5/5
      Wonderful book! Captivating characters,fast-moving plot, and sadly-realistic story. Please read this book!
    • 5/5
      Really enjoyed the story and the twists in the stories. Also appreciate rhe mention of the real life institutions - they make great suggestions at the end if you want to learn more
    • 5/5
      I finished this in two days. As addictive as any of the great crime novels out there, but with a new kind of protagonist. There was lots of humour to go with the suspense, and I liked learning about life on the reservation. I hope this is the first of a series. Highly recommended!
    • 4/5
      Fascinating read. Many new informative bites I'd like to look up on Native Americans especially the healing, food & justice system or lack of that they face
    • 5/5
      This stunning first novel by the author is a gripping story that grabs you from beginning to end. This novel is part noir, historical and cultural. It gives you a first hand look into the prejudices that not only happened in the past and are still a part of native life today The injustices are a disgrace to the white power structures from the past to the present.Highly a recommended!
    • 5/5
      What an amazing Debut. A fantastic crime thriller based on a Indian Reservation. Have to say one of the best Debut Thrillers I’ve read in a long time. I really look forward to the next book from this exceptional gifted writer.
    • 4/5
      Although I guessed fairly early who the “criminal mastermind” was, I liked this #ownvoices thriller featuring Virgil Wounded Horse, an Native American modern-day vigilante (which exists, according to author‘s notes). I feel like this might lead to a series; if so, I‘ll follow. I appreciated the thought-provoking asides regarding Virgil‘s culture. Author‘s notes also has recommendations on further reading if one wants to learn more about Native American culture and issues.
    • 5/5
      An Edgar Award finalist for best first mystery novel and it deserves it's acclaim. The book centers on a tribal tough guy (fixer) and his foruteen year old nephew who he is tasked to raise. When his nephew almost dies of a drug overdose (Virgil) is out to find out who is bringing drugs to reservation. The search leads him to two warring gangs working out of Denver. The book is great as it is able to couple a great mystery with a sensitive look into the author's Native American culture.
    • 4/5
      Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden is a 2020 Ecco publication. Criminal cases on the Lakota Rosebun reservation in South Dakota are usually handled by the Tribal Council, but more serious ones are handed over to the American feds. The feds, in turn, rarely opt to pursue the cases presented them, unless they think it might be high profile. This opens the door to vigilantism and that’s the job Virgil Wounded Knee performs- as an 'enforcer', doling out his own brand of justice. When approached to investigate the flow of heroin onto the reservation, Virgil is not inclined to pursue it, but when his own nephew, Nathan, OD’s, he starts paying attention. Heading to Denver with his former girlfriend, Marie, the pair search for Rick Crow, the man they believe has connections to a drug cartel and is behind the infiltration of drugs onto the Rosebud reservation. Their investigation leads them into unexpected places as Virgil, who is of mixed heritage, must learn to rely on the native beliefs he has long ago dismissed… Meanwhile, Nathan’s problems multiply when a stash of drugs is found in his school locker. This places more pressure on Virgil to get to the bottom of things before Nathan winds up behind bars…This is another book that has been on my list for a while. I knew it would be a good book, and sure enough, this novel turned out to be a well-written, multi-layered crime story that tackles a multitude of cultural issues, while drawing the reader into Virgil’s internal struggle, as he wrestles with his own demons. Although there are a few issues with the writing, for a debut novel, and an award winning one, at that, the story has a great deal of depth, and is one I’d recommend, and not just to those who enjoy crime fiction. It’s an eye-opening inside look at life on a Lakota reservation and the challenges of indigenous people, as well as an absorbing character study, which will appeal to a broader audience as well. 4 stars
    • 3/5
      This novel has a competent beginning and a snappy if improbable climax and end, but dithers throughout the center, marking time against processes outside the control of the main character whose progress with the central issues of the plot is nill during that span while any non-naive reader known more. I felt that the writer not only didn't trust the reader with the guts and bones of the main character, leaving us more with the idea of him, but he didn't fully trust his characters either. Yes. we should know more particulars of why laws under which the reservations are administered suck, and the costs of that, but relevance doesn't guarantee a good read.
    • 4/5
      David Heska Wanbli Weiden’s Winter Counts is largely set on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota where Virgil Wounded Horse offers a measure of justice and revenge to crime victims who are ignored by both their own tribal council and local law enforcement officers. In simple terms, Virgil is the local enforcer — and he is good at his job. It is, of course, impossible not to compare a novel like Winter Counts to those of writers like Craig Johnson, Tony Hillerman, Anne Hillerman, C.J. Box, and others who cover much of the same territory. The good news is that David Heska Wanbli Weiden’s debut novel proves that he can hold his on with the best of them. Several members of the club have, in fact, endorsed Winter Counts because of its authenticity, cultural insight, and riveting storytelling. Of all of them, I think that C.J. Box put it best:“I’ve been waiting most of my life for this book without realizing it. Winter Counts is a knowing, authentic, closely observed novel about modern-day Lakotas that rings absolutely true, warts and all. The sense of place is breathtaking and raw. It’s a hell of a debut.”Now, I don’t know about you, but I usually don’t give much credence to author blurbs, figuring that they are more often than not just another case of two writers scratching each other’s back. But now that I’ve read Winter Counts for myself, I could not agree more with the blurbs splashed all over the novel’s back cover. Virgil Wounded Horse, who as a kid was badly bullied by some of the same people he sees every day on the reservation, knows what it’s like to feel helpless and afraid. That is probably one of the reasons he is always ready (and why he enjoys doing it) to give an unforgettable beating as final warning to those who would otherwise not suffer a thing for their crimes on the reservation. But then Virgil’s nephew Nathan overdoses on the suddenly available heroin he was given for free at the reservation school and nearly dies. Game changer…now it’s all very personal and it’s going to take more than an “unforgettable” beating to satisfy the intense anger that Virgil Wounded Horse is filled with.With the help of Marie Short Bear, his ex-girlfriend, Virgil tracks the dealer to Denver, but that’s where things get complicated enough to limit his options. Virgil learns that the man he is looking for is only the link into the reservation for some other very powerful people looking for a new market for their product — and that much more powerful men than him are already looking for a way to put the heroin dealers out of business. Unfortunately, Nathan is about to become a pawn in a scheme that could easily get them all killed.Bottom Line: Winter Counts (winter counts were the Lakota calendar system) is a genuine thriller, one of those coming-of-age stories in which the kid nearing adulthood will be lucky to survive the process. Weiden is one heck of a storyteller, and it’s hard not to tear right through this one. But the novel is so much more than that. Weiden is himself an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, and he has filled Winter Counts with cultural insights and history that combine to make it all seem terribly real. His explanation of how and why both the American and Tribal legal systems all too often fail Native Americans is a heartbreaking one. Fiction, though, often spreads the truth more readily than nonfiction accounts of the same situation. Perhaps that is the best thing about books like Winter Counts and Craig Johnson’s more recent Daughter of the Morning Star. Read novels like these and tell your friends about them. Maybe someone will finally listen.
    • 3/5
      A generic crime noir plot distinguishes itself by being set on the Rosebud reservation of the Sicangu Lakota. Virgil Wounded Horse is a broke and always down-on-his-luck vigilante for hire in a place where law enforcement does not always deliver justice as criminals fall into the cracks between tribal and federal jurisdictions. He's hired to look into/run off some new drug dealers in the area, but the case becomes personal when a relative falls victim to their fentanyl-laced heroin.Virgil is not much of an investigator; his toolbox is limited to slowly meandering around asking, "Have you seen this guy?" and clumsily breaking into places that rarely yield any clues. But even as he blunders through the case it is heartening to see him slowly rebuild his life by re-establishing and deepening connections with family, community, and his cast-aside spirituality.
    • 4/5
      Lakota Country NoirReview of the HarperAudio audiobook edition, released simultaneously with the Ecco hardcover (August 2020)Winter Counts is the first novel from David Weiden of the Sicangu Lakota, and it takes place in a fictionalized version of the Sicangu Rosebud Reservation located in South Dakota. The title comes the Lakota calendar system of winter counts where the dramatic events of each year are represented pictorially.Although the overall story is fictionalized, author Weiden does stress in his Afterword that the issues of the lack of Federal enforcement for sexual assaults and abuse and the consequent need for tribal enforcers to mete out some level of punishment is a real one. So the vigilante profession of the protagonist Virgil Wounded Horse is drawn from a real life basis.Weiden does an excellent job of making our enforcer Virgil out as a sympathetic character which one would not initially expect. He is the uncle of his nephew Nathan who has substance abuse issues that become progressively worse as the story unfolds, to the point where Virgil sets out to shut down the opiate drug trade in Rosebud which originates from gangs in Denver. There are several characters involved and some of them prove to be too good to be true as betrayals and twist discoveries appear. There is also a considerable amount of Lakota history which is covered in the occasional digression that Weiden has carefully spread throughout, so the book also has the benefit of providing a good dose of non-fiction information. This includes information on the Six Grandfathers (now known as Mt. Rushmore) and a fun sidetrip to Carhenge in Nebraska.The narration by Darrell Dennis in all voices was excellent. I hope that I'll see the return of Virgil Wounded Horse in further stories.I listened to Winter Counts thanks to the Audible Daily Deal on February 8, 2021.
    • 5/5
      Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden Virgil lives on the res and with his nephew, Nathan. Buck wants him to locate the man who's selling heroin.Before he knows it Nathan has overdosed on heroin. He's able to get him back but he still wants to find the culprit.Like hearing of the customs and traditions that are still done. Reminds me of Longmire, a tv series that we watched. Very close relations to this story as the laws for Indians are ruled by the Res cops.Nathan is being framed and only way out is to wear the wire and make a drug deal. Marie who is Buck's father has moved in with Virgil as they work together to find the culprit drug dealer.Love what the title really means, we had done something similar with our advent calendar, but the one they talk about is so much more memorable.Lots of action, travel, drugs, cartels, betrayal and moving on. Love to learn that the author has written other books, can't wait to read those also.I received this review book from The Kensington Books and this is my honest opinion.
    • 4/5
      Virgil Wounded Horse is an enforcer on Wyoming's Rosebud Reservation. His mission is to bring justice where the federal justice system fails to do so. One of the tribal leaders asks him to use his skills to bring tribe member Rick Crow to justice for introducing hard drugs on the reservation. Virgil's search for Rick Crow brings his ex, Marie, back into his life. Before Virgil locates Crow, he is sidetracked by his nephew Nathan's troubles. Nathan's mother was Virgil's sister, and after her death, Nathan is the only family Virgil has left.I am glad that I gave this book a chance even though the publisher's description sounds like the type of crime novel I usually avoid. I liked getting to know Virgil, Nathan, and Marie, and the Reservation. As a seasoned mystery reader, I could tell early on how the trouble had started and where the plot was heading. However, the author did a nice job of illustrating the social problems of the reservation without a lot of information dumps. The book's ending suggests that readers haven't seen the last of Virgil, and I hope that's true.
    • 5/5
      Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli WeidenSet on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Virgil Wounded Horse is the local law enforcer. He is a vigilante who takes justice into his own hands for the good of the people. When heroin ends up on the reservation, it hits close to home. His Nephew is in trouble and Virgil will stop at nothing to put an end to the drug problem. As he sets out on his mission he is up against drug lords and corruption among his own people.The plot is true to life, thought provoking and engaging while delving into a real word crisis. The characters are Native American and represented beautifully by David Heska Wanbli Weiden. Life on the reservation comes with (some) hardships and prejudice, as well as ancient customs from the elders. Winter Counts is a fantastic story with intensity, raw emotions, and heart-felt moments. A truly memorable read, which I recommend to all.
    • 5/5
      As a rule, I avoid crime fiction involving drugs, but something told me that Winter Counts would be different. I was right. One of the greatest tools in a writer's arsenal is voice, and the voice of Virgil Wounded Horse immediately drew me into this story. You wouldn't think that a character whose main occupation is beating people to a pulp would interest me, but Virgil isn't your stereotypical violent musclebound oaf. No, Virgil has a strong moral compass which is easily seen when he's offered $5,000 to do a job for a member of the tribal council. $5,000 is more than Virgil makes in a year, but Virgil doesn't jump at the chance to earn all that money because the entire situation doesn't "smell right" to him.Virgil, his teenage nephew Nathan, and Virgil's ex-girlfriend Marie show the effects of reservation life on three different types of people. Virgil represents what can happen to a poorly educated person on the reservation. Nathan shows us the dangers of reservation life for the young, and educated Marie shows us how many Lakota are trying to improve life on the reservation. All three characters are well-drawn and utterly believable.Not only did I find myself immersed in the story, but Winter Counts was also a learning experience for me. I had an idea that the American legal system did Native Americans no favors, but I hadn't realized just how abysmally the law treats them. It should not have come as such a surprise. But the law wasn't the only area in which I learned new things. Winter Counts is rich in Lakota history, spirituality, culture, and food. (By the way, do not call the Lakota "Sioux"-- it's another one of those Caucasian derogatory terms.)The only thing that kept this book from being one of my Best Reads of the year was the fact that, for a mystery, the identity of the chief bad guy and other elements were much too obvious. But with a character like Virgil and the other riches that the author serves up in Winter Counts, that's a small complaint indeed. I highly recommend this book, and I look forward to Weiden's next novel.
    • 4/5
      There's rather a dearth of books set in South Dakota. In my LibraryThing reading history I only show 2 other books that I have tagged as having South Dakota settings. (Similarly I only show 3 books set in North Dakota and they are all by Louise Erdrich.) I suppose that is partly due to those states being sparsely populated; most writers want to be familiar with their setting to place a book there. Hopefully this author will place some more books in this area.Virgil Wounded Horse lives on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. He does odd jobs and also metes out physical justice to people that the legal system can't or won't prosecute. He is the guardian of his teenage nephew, Nathan, whose mother died a few years previously. He is an alcoholic but has been sober for a few years. When one of the band councillors offers to pay him to show his brand of justice to a local man, Rick Crow, who is bringing heroin onto the reservation, Virgil is willing because he was a victim of bullying from Rick when he was in high school. Then he comes home one day and finds Nathan in a coma from using heroin and his motivation is enhanced. His nephew recovers, thankfully, and is okay to be left with Virgil's aunt while he goes off to Denver to find the dealer. He is accompanied by his former girlfriend, Marie Short Bear, who dated Rick for a while after she and Virgil split up. Marie has some ideas where they could find Rick. When they go to a bar he frequents he is not there but an undercover drug agent hears them asking for Rick and follows them. When he hears about Nathan he suggests that Nathan could help them convict the gang running the drugs by setting up a sting. Virgil won't even consider this but when a pile of opiod pills are found in Nathan's locker at high school and he is looking at 10 years in federal adult prison he reluctantly agrees. Despite the feds' assurances that all will be well there are big problems and soon Virgil is facing the possibility of losing Nathan. With assistance from a local medicine man and members of the community Virgil has a vision that helps him get an idea of where to look for Nathan.I thought this was a great book, particularly for a debut novel. It seems to me to be a realistic portrayal of life on a reservation. In Canada, we have very similar problems in our indigenous communities and, although I wouldn't want to see violence used as a technique to bring justice, some of the other mechanisms shown in this book could be useful here as well as in the US.
    • 4/5
      A compelling, thrilling merge of crime novel and #ownvoices, fast-paced and peopled with vivid characters. The author portrays life on the rez with an unflinching perspective and tough affection. Wildly entertaining, would make a great travel read, and more importantly a diverse voice for the genre.
    • 4/5
      I liked the Native American setting, culture, and characters, especially the fournteen-year-old Nathan and the relationship between Virgil Wounded Horse and the teenager. It's conclusion held a bit too much violence, in my view, which is what kept me from giving this book five stars.
    • 4/5
      “Winter counts were the calendar system used by the Lakota,...”A pretty darn good read! The first chapter hits fast and hard! Virgil Wounded Horse is a Lakota in South Dakota, and the local 'enforcer'. His nephew gets in a bit of trouble, and Virgil goes about getting him out of it! That plotline is pretty good.But the gem of this book is all about Native American culture (specifically Lakota), traditions, and ceremonies. The yuwipi ceremony toward the end was especially interesting - and amazing! And I really got interested in the parts about the indigi-culteral food movement that the Lack character brings in! Putting down the fry bread and eating more like the indigenous people, the "..., the proteins and wild plants our ancestors lived on." Essentially, going 'native' in their diets. Super interesting! Like I said, a darn good read - especially for a debut!
    • 3/5
      I love reading indigenous voices and Winter Counts is no exception. Set on a reservation it shows just how far one man will go to keep his nephew and his community safe. Known to most in his community as a local hired thug (he deals out justice when the system fails) - Virgil Wounded Horse is sought out by a local official -because someone is bringing heroin on to the reservation and it needs to stop. Virgil isn't interested - how can anyone be certain who is responsible? But all that changes when his fourteen year old nephew overdoses and barely survives. Suddenly Virgil is VERY interested in making someone pay - even if he's not sure who. Gritty, suspenseful, and at times a little underwhelming. I really enjoyed all the characters and the atmosphere - but I feel like the whole mystery aspect could have been better developed. I will definitely read more from this author!
    • 5/5
      Winter Counts gives us a unique, insider perspective of life on a Native American reservation.I loved everything about this book.The complexities of Native and modern American cultures intertwining, with all the complications and obstacles this forced alliance brings, are at the heart of the story. I had no idea how difficult life still is for this entire culture of people that early European-Americans tried to erase. While reading, I felt like a guest invited into this private world.The writing is immersive and engaging. Pacing is steady, building in intensity as the story unfolds. The plot is real, current, and thought-provoking.A word of caution about expectations: I’ve noticed that Winter Counts is sometimes marketed as a “thriller,” which it’s not. I’d place this book in the category of literary crime fiction. While the ending is explosive, overall pacing and content aren’t thriller material. This book’s strengths lie in its sense of place and purpose, in its characters and their stories, and in the way it reflects something back at us that, perhaps, we’d so far chosen not to see.*I received a review copy from Ecco Books, via NetGalley.*
    • 4/5
      If you picture Native Americans, what do you see? Do you see a people decimated by systemic racism, alcohol and drugs, and a deep and grinding poverty? Do you see shamans, powwows, and defenders of the Earth? Do you see dusty reservations and casinos? Do you see missing and murdered indigenous women, failed by a federal judicial system that dismisses their duty, leaving criminals unpunished or entirely unprosecuted and victims unavenged? All of these things are true and yet not even close to a full picture of the many different groups who fall under this designation. David Heska Wanbli Weiden, an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, has written a riveting novel that confronts and enlarges on life on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Winter Counts is a thriller, a crime novel, and a Lakota cultural examination.Virgil Wounded Horse is half Lakota, a recovering alcoholic, and a vigilante. When justice isn't done by federal or tribal courts, people pay Virgil to redress the wrongs. He punishes the rapists, thieves, and wife beaters that the law ignores. When Ben Short Bear, a councilman running for Tribal President, contacts him to investigate the sudden influx of heroin into the reservation, Virgil isn't sure he wants to get involved even though the payout would be big. Then Virgil's own nephew, 14 year old Nathan, who Virgil is raising after his sister's death, overdoses and almost dies. Now Virgil has no choice but to get involved. He and his ex, Maria Short Bear, Ben's daughter, head to Denver after the small time criminal who has hooked up with the big boys to bring heroin onto the reservation. This trip embroils Virgil and Maria in something much bigger, more insidious, and more personal than they ever imagined.Virgil narrates his own story, remaining clear eyed about both the good and ill of his community on the reservation. He was bullied as a child for his mixed race and he still sees firsthand the economic disparity, the accepted corruption, and the failure in leadership that exists but he also sees the perseverence and connection of a community trying to save its young people, to improve everyone's lives, and to try to honor and maintain their culture, even if he himself is frequently skeptical of that culture. In Virgil, Weiden has created a character who recognizes the wrongs done to the Lakota people and who is invested in righting those wrongs in whatever way he can. He is both an insider and an outsider, which allows the reader to learn and grow with him. The descriptions of the secondary characters and life on the reservation fully round out the story. This is not really a thriller in the heart pounding sense, rather it is one that carefully peels back each layer of the plot deliberately, until the depth of the corruption and the fullness of the novel is exposed in all its complexity.The book is a fast and engrossing read that feels like it could be the first in a series. It doesn't flinch from the truth of the ways in which the government and white American have failed the Native population or from the ways its own people do the same to themselves. It is thought provoking, violent, and gripping. Those who like their novels gritty and realistic will quite enjoy this.
    • 5/5
      cultural-exploration, history-and-culture, reservation, thugs, drugs-issues, suspense, violence, Lakota, crime-fiction, criminal-injustice-system*****Life on the rez is hard. Harder than other small town life, but the encroaching drug problems are there, too. Even though my people come from Europe, I can still be outraged by the way The People have been and still are betrayed by the governments of North America as highlighted in this novel. The tough guy/protagonist is a wonder and he tells some very uncomfortable truths about the treatment of non-whites by law enforcement, especially the Feds. But you should have known that already from reading in the media about the crimes against Native women, especially but not only the Cree. The book is written tightly and with an intensity that kept me reading with as few interruptions as possible despite my discomfort with some graphic parts. There are many good things, too, like descriptions of the moral codes and rituals of the Lakota. Excellent!I requested and received a free ebook copy from HarperCollins Publishers/Ecco via NetGalley. Thank you!
    • 5/5
      This is a wonderful mystery that is set on Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota and all of the main characters are Native Americans. It's a real page turner mystery but it also gives us a picture of the poor living conditions on the reservations and a lot of history about the Lakota tribe.Virgil Wounded Horse is an enforcer. He punishes people who the justice system ignores. He is a recovered alcoholic and is has been raising his 14 year old nephew since his mother got killed in a car accident. He's approached by a man on the tribe council and asked to look into the heroin that has started to become available on the reservation for the young people. After getting more information, he agrees to find out who is behind bringing the drugs in and to make them stop no matter he has to do. When his search begins to affect his nephew and his old girlfriend, he realizes that he is dealing with more than Mexican cartels - he is also dealing with corruption by those who should be protecting the people on the reservation.I don't want to give away and of the plot but I will tell you that once you start this book, you won't want to put it down. The main character is a flawed person and a hero at the same time. He wants to help his people but has long given up his trust in the old beliefs of the Lakota tribe. Even though he is a very conflicted man, he stays protective of his nephew, girlfriend and all of his friends. He is a complex character who is very driven to protect those around him.I enjoyed this debut novel and stayed up way past bedtime to keep reading it. I can't wait to see what the author writes next!
    • 5/5
      David Heska Wanbli Weiden has written a satisfying mystery as well as giving us a community member’s view of living on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Virgil Wounded Horse, the protagonist, is a mixed-race Indian, who scoffs at the native religious beliefs and has found himself the guardian of him 14-year-old nephew. Virgil is a tough guy. He handles the issues that law enforcement refuses to deal with. When his nephew nearly dies because of a drug overdose, Virgil gets involved in the hunt for who is bringing the dope onto the reservation. It’s not a pretty life Virgil lives in. The reader will be immersed in the storyline, but along with that the view of living on a reservation is impressive as Virgil recounts his life and shares his insight into what it means to be a Native American. I hope Virgil returns to set more lives on the correct path and teach us readers more about his life.