Winter Counts in DMPL Book Chat

Sep 23, 2021 Danielle rated it liked it

Shelves: contemporary, audiobooks-read, adult, mystery-thriller

"Sadness is like an abandoned car left out in a field for good - it changes a little over the years, but doesn't ever disappear. You may forget about it for a while, but it's still there, rusting away, until you notice it again."

Winter Counts has been on my radar for some time now. Every now and then I love a good thriller and I especially love thrillers that feature new stories/perspectives for me. Thrillers from an indigenous point of view? Sign me up. On top of being a thriller, this book off "Sadness is like an abandoned car left out in a field for good - it changes a little over the years, but doesn't ever disappear. You may forget about it for a while, but it's still there, rusting away, until you notice it again."

Winter Counts has been on my radar for some time now. Every now and then I love a good thriller and I especially love thrillers that feature new stories/perspectives for me. Thrillers from an indigenous point of view? Sign me up. On top of being a thriller, this book offered me some new information about what life is like for indigenous folks. In this case, I learned about the justice system and what that often looks like for indigenous folks. Since crimes committed on reservations cannot be tried by the American justice system, it has to be handled by the tribal council. Often, these folks know each other so "true" justice doesn't happen. That's when Virgil Wounded Horse comes in. He delivers his own punishment which often results in some incredibly violent and bloody encounters.

Virgil knows there are drugs on the reservation but it isn't until heroin reaches Virgil's nephew that Virgil takes an interest in figuring out what is happening. Virgil seeks out his ex-girlfriend and the two of them start to uncover where the drugs are coming from and work to make them stop coming to his reservation. Their search takes them to Denver and back. More is uncovered the longer they search - and their search just yields more unknowns, danger, and questions.

I liked the perspective of this book and I especially loved that we got to learn more about what it's like living on an indigenous reservation in today's world. Rampant drug and alcohol use with very little money makes life dark and difficult yet you can see glimpses of what could be for some of these characters. I think going into this book I was expecting more of a mystery and while there was definitely a mystery with this story, it's more of a thriller. Even as a novice mystery reader, I was able to guess the ending and for that, that made this reading experience slightly less enjoyable for me. I would definitely recommend this one for adult readers who want to know more about what life is like for indigenous folks today.

TW: violence, police injustice/brutality, drug use, addiction, assault, murder, death, rape (mentioned), poverty, suicidal ideology ...more

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Mar 29, 2023 Courtney rated it liked it

Of course, we didn't use the words Indian or Native American then; we were just people. We didn't know we were supposedly drunks or lazy or savages. I wondered what it was like to live without that weight on your shoulders, the weight of the murdered ancestors, the stolen land, the abused children, the burden every Native person carries.

3.5 stars
It turns out I had no clue what this book was about. I picked it up because we were getting like third winter in Iowa and I figured reading a book about ...more

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Nov 11, 2020 Rebecca rated it really liked it

Rounded up from 3.5

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Jan 21, 2021 Stephanie Caffrey rated it really liked it

I really liked this book. it's a bit of a slow burn, but totally worth it in the end. I loved Virgil, and his relationship with both Nathan and Marie. I liked seeing first hand what life on a reservation is like. The mystery was good, and really pushed along the story, I read most of it in one day. Once the story gets started, it's hard to put the book down. ...more

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Feb 27, 2021 Katie Jones rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this thriller. I thought the author’s observations about life on the Rosebud Indian Reservation and the history of the Lakota to be especially interesting. I’m looking forward to reading what David Heska Wanbli Weiden writes next.

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