I was excited to read this story of a Native woman looking for her husband by following a group of Holy Rollers with a sinister leader. Native people in the Southwest have stories of Coyote, a oxymoron of a trickster, and a helper. Native people in the north seem to have a similar wolf figure called rougarou. When Joan's husband Victor disappears, she spends a year looking for him in vain. But one day, after a night of heavy drinking, she stumbles across a religious group with a man called Reverend Wolff. Joan is positive he is her missing husband, but he insists he doesn't remember her.

Aided by her elders, and her young cousin, Zeus, Joan is off to rescue the man who claims he is not Victor. She is hindered by her skepticism, the deviousness of Heisler, the white man in charge of the Bible thumpers, and the strange Cecile who holds more power than anyone imagines. Zeus's stubborness and earnestness is a great foil for Joan's meandering desperation, and her grandmothers advice, yelled at her with complete exasperation, like all Native elders, is both tangible (salt bone, which I had never heard of) and metaphorical (make him bleed to remember), which is a good description of this story. Joan must reconcile the stories of her youth, with the reality of her adult life. A white man wants to take everything from her -- her land, her family, and her husband. She has to fight back with the stories of her people, and the gifts they give her, which of course, is how Native people will always survive.

Another great book from a First Nations author. I wish the United States was as good at publishing, and promoting Native authors.

Thank you to HarperCollins, William Morrow and Net Galley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Joan’s life is turned upside down when husband, Victor, leaves and never comes back. Nothing about her life feels normal without him there. One day, she comes across a revival tent in a parking lot, entering out of curiosity but finding Victor (now known as Jonathan) within. He has no recollection of Joan or the life they shared. Joan and nephew, Zeus, set out to track down Victor, figure out what has happened to him, and if he can be saved…maybe even from the rogarou.

While I’m certain there’s an audience for this book, it just wasn’t quite right for me. I was interested in what was going on most of the time, but it didn't feel pressing. Also, the cursing felt a little superfluous.

This was awesome.

Joan is a First Nation woman in northern Canada, having come back from some wild escapades in her youth with her husband in tow. Until one day her husband doesn't come back. She has spent the last 11 months searching for him, wandering the streets and forests, knowing he's still out there. Her family is worried and encourages her to move on, that something must have happened to cause him to disappear, and she should mourn and move on. Joan knows this isn't the case, that something has happened, but he isn't dead, not yet at least.

During one of her benders with a cousin, trying to forget that the world is cruel and unfair, she wakes up to see a revival tent in the Walmart parking lot. Stepping inside she realizes that the reverend is her missing husband. Only he doesn't recognize her. She is taken to the hospital and treated for being just another native drunk, but her auntie knows that what she saw was real. The only problem is that her husband has been taken by the rougarou.

The rougarou is a native legend, that those who are doing what they should not will be taken by this creature and lost forever. Joan only has a short time before her husband is completely transformed, and she is going to battle.

The writing was fantastic. The story was creepy, but also extremely heartfelt, and showed quite accurately the struggle that the First Nation people go through. The scene with the reverend spouting nonsense from the bible had my blood boiling. This novel really shows the care and passion that Dimaline has for her people and their history. I hope to read more from her soon. This was excellent.

(Apologies if I did not term things correctly. I tried to use the correct language.)

Copy provided by NetGalley.

I had never heard the term 'rogarou' before, apparently a kind of evil werewolf spirit/creature. The protagonist, a broken-hearted woman in her thirties, whose husband disappeared in the woods after an argument almost a year before and for whom she's been searching non-stop. When she finds him unexpectedly, though he doesn't know who she is, things take a frightening turn.

With the help of an old friend of her grandmother's, Joan sets out on a journey, along with a helper, her twelve-year-old nephew, to track Victor down and battle the Rogarou who has him in his control.

I received this book as an ARC from Scene of the Crime.

I'm not sure what to say about this. I enjoyed the premise of the story and the characters. Joan's husband walked out of her and was missing for around a year. She has never stopped looking for him and has become kind of obsessed with it. Then she spots him at a tent revival that had come through her town but he does not recognize her.

The beginning seemed to move a little slow to me and did not draw me in like some books do. I enjoyed the premise of the story and the storyline, but I think some of the characters just didn't fit into the story very well.

Not my usual cup of tea but I enjoyed this one so so much. How does this author create such vivid atmosphere and suck in the reader so quickly? A great work of art

If I could give a half star option, I'd probably rate Empire of Wild as three and a half. At times it gets slightly convoluted while building out mythology of Joan's ancestors and there are parts that are in my mind unnecessarily crude and coarse that don't contribute greatly to the main conflict in the story. It also feels like it takes Joan more time than necessary to try and achieve her end goal - which is getting her husband Victor back after he disappears during an argument. The weaving into the storyline of the rougarou IS fascinating and adds a magic realism note to what would be a traditional mystery novel. I also really enjoyed the author touching on using things like religious manipulation to distract attention away from the stripping of Native American resources. This story is an overall good reminder that many Native Americans have a rich cultural, a close connection to the land, and are exploited by many and overlooked by even more.

I thought it sounded better than what it actually was, but did enjoy it. Ending left me hanging and frustrated. Received ARC from Scene of Crime Facebook Group through NetGalley. Story didn't start out explaining that characters were Native Americans (not Indians) as one character in the book identified them and Joan had to correct him. Joan husband walks out the door after a fight and disappears for 18 months until she seems him at a revival tent as a Reverend. Book kinds of half tells the story about Native American beliefs and tales of Rogaru (man/wolf).

2.5, rounded up to 3 stars.

First of all, this is not a horror story, or a typical thriller, or typical of any other genre I can think of off hand. I was willing to accept Joan's world view, that this creature existed, and that there was a way to win back her husband from it's influence. I was drawn in by the prologue...the language and the picture the author presented of the community. Unfortunately, for me, the remainder of the book did not live up to the prologue. I didn't feel that any of the characters were fully developed, including Joan, and struggled to finish the story.

Many thanks, nonetheless, to NetGalley and Morrow for the opportunity to read the ARC in return for my honest opinion.

Set in a small community in Canada, Joan's husband left one night after an argument and hasn't been seen in over a year. Did something happen to him? Did he just leave? Joan continues to search for him as the novel begins. There is a cast of characters who help her along the way from her grandmother to her 13-year-old nephew, Zeus, to an elderly neighbor, Ajean. One day Joan sees a traveling preacher at a tent revival and is convinced he is her husband Victor. But he claims that he is not and that he does not know her. Thinking that Victor is under a spell or has been brainwashed, she is on a mission to win back her husband. Joan's community has a long held belief in the "rogarou"--a man/wolf that will steal your soul if you do wrong. So Joan is not only trying to fight to get her husband back but also his soul. This was a fast-paced, easy -to-read paranormal novel with strong characters.

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley

Dimaline’s novel centers on Joan, a Metis woman, whose husband has been missing for roughly a year. Victor, Joan’s husband, left one night after a fight and didn’t return. This, understandably, has thrown Joan though a loop. Then she thinks she see him. Perhaps, just perhaps, he is that Reverend who’s born again Christian church has shown up. Thus, Joan’s quest starts.
Dimaline’s novel, part supernatural thriller, part mystery, works brilliantly because Joan’s confusion and pain, her worry about her missing husband Victor becomes the perfect centerpiece of the novel. It isn’t a book about what much of society sees as the stereotypical “Indigenous” novel – it is about love in a family and how that can save people.
This isn’t to see that Dimaline does not address larger issues. The use of the revival meetings showcases the use of religion as a tool of oppression and racism in hands of some people. There are micro aggressions, education problems and work problems. But the center of the story is the quest for the missing husband who may be the reverend and may have a connection to the rogarou. In fact, the use of the rogarou is especially brilliant as Dimaline ties to colonialism as well as the beliefs and folklore of not only the Indigenous population but Canada and all its peoples.
The book works because the emotions at the center of it are real and solid. The links between Joan and her family – not only her husband but her cousins and other relatives. Even the villains, for the most part, are not the one dimensional but are finely drawn. The pacing is solid and the ending does not feel rushed.

I was drawn in from the beginning of this book. The mystery involves what happened to a man when he disappears suddenly and is found again almost a year later by his wife. The story involves the folklore of the Métis and their close-knit families. It is a fascinating look at what is happening to this group of people who are being disenfranchised from their land by outside developers who are using Christianity to make them accept what is happening to them. I received a copy of this book from Netgalley. #EmpireofWild #NetGalley

This was an enchanting tale with mystical characters of half-human heritage and elements of indigenous lore that kept me up turning pages later than usual. I hope there are more stories like this one by this author.

A foray into magical realism, Empire of Wild brings together the story of Joan and her quest to extricate her missing husband from the rougarou's (think werewolf's) grasp. Joan's husband has been missing close to a year when she spots him at a tent revival, though he does not recognize her. Leaning on the shared memory of her community, passed to her through Ajean, and the modern day savvy of her young cousin Zeus, Joan sets out to bring her husband home. The writing style and tone fit perfectly. The multiple examples and heavy reliance on similes made this feel like a story being handed down and told orally.
The plot itself was intriguing, but the execution stumbled. I didn't much care about any of the characters- there were many who were thrown into the book that served little or no purpose. This stalled the book towards the beginning and made the end confusing rather than intriguing or surprising. I found myself rushing to finish, generally knowing what was going to happen and skimming the final chapters. While the writing style was strong enough to push the plot forward, it feels like a big moment was missed to either embrace the magic in the rougarou or ground the story back into reality and the social commentary that was trying to be made.

Empire of Wild is a story about a native woman, Joan, and her quest to find her missing husband and bring him home. There is a folklore aspect of this book which plays a big part in the story. I really enjoyed the background information about the rogarau and how Victor ended up being the way he was. Each chapter had a purpose and there wasn’t much “fluff” which is a peeve of mine in books. I wish the back stories of some characters were more thoroughly described, especially Ajean. She plays such a big role in Joan’s journey to get Victor back and I found myself wanting to know more about her background. Overall this was an enjoyable quick read!