On the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, Virgil Wounded Horse is in the throes of a dead end life. His only source of income comes sporadically as the hired goon on the Rez, a few bucks here and there to rough somebody up. No longer a drunk, that straight and narrow has arisen to meet him as an official guardian for his teenage nephew, Nathan, after a sudden tragedy befalls Virgil’s sister. Yet there is only room for one epiphany in Virgil’s life at a time. While he no longer drinks, he has no interest in the indigenous and tribal customs and faiths of his people. The triumvirate of these interweave so definitively as Virgil loses his grip on Nathan and his own substance abuse, his reconnection with a former love interest (Marie) and the complicated connection her parents have as strong members of the Rez community, and an opportunity to hunt down the culprits that are bringing the drugs onto the reservation, including a former childhood bully who tormented him endlessly. Virgil eventually gets clouded by his trust of people in positions of authority and his lack of self-efficacy. In the end, redemption of a violent and abrupt nature descend upon the psyche of Virgil both familiarly and personally. Drawn back into the customs of his people, he is awakened to the image of his own potential death to see where his nephew, Nathan, is being held against his will in a failed drug coup. The only factor is time. For many of us, the only factor is time.

As always, thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars thank you to #netgalley for allowing me to read this #arc.
I highly recommend Winter Counts. I am a sucker for a gritty thriller. I love a flawed character where the protagonist is down to his last five dollars and losing his way in life. That is what you get in this novel. Virgil is the guardian for his teenage nephew, and the local enforcer of street justice on the reservation where he lived. The reason that his job is seen as needed on the reservation is the fact that for bigger or more violent crimes- the feds are supposed to prosecute these crimes. But they don’t often do this, since they don’t deem the crimes on the reservation important enough to prosecute. Hence Virgil’s job. People pay him to dole out reservation justice. But he gets involved in something that threatens his way of life, his beloved nephew, and the folks on the reservation. Not only is this book a great mystery thriller- but it delves into the myriad of ways the American Indian/Native American has been screwed in our country over centuries. This would be a great companion read for a book club alongside the historical non-fiction thriller Killers of the Flower Moon. I would love to read more about Virgil or any other stories by this author set on the reservation. I learned a lot too!

I have already book talked this title at a library program. The topic, setting & characters were all interesting, gripping and the writing was top notch. I look forward to more from this author.

Winter Counts is crime fiction with a "social bent" from a great new voice in the genre. It's an impressive book for a debut.

The story follows Virgil Wounded Horse, who gets by working as an enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. (His job exists because the feds often fail to prosecute even heinous crimes, so people turn to Virgil.)

Virgil's a tough guy, but he's also biracial (half Lakota and half white), sober, and raising his (deceased) sister's son. I was struck by how often trauma was woven in through these pages - Virgil's, as well as other characters' and their community's.

I'd heard this one billed as a thriller, and while it did have moments of "unputdownability," I'd classify it as more crime fiction. The plot concerns drugs being trafficked on the reservation, but at times that seemed to take the back burner to other side plots. Perhaps this is to become a series? I'd certainly continue reading...

This book was suspenseful and provided a fascinating look into life on the Lakota reservation. Virgil is an enforcer on the reservation who gets drawn into a battle between warring narcotics factions on his home reservation.

Virgil Wounded Horse is a Lakota enforcer. Dispensing his own form of justice for members of the tribe who can't get justice through the legal system. You see, the tribes are only allowed to prosecute misdemeanors and the feds are the ones who prosecute felonies. However the feds pass on charging most crimes on the reservations, unless it's a murder.

Virgil is hired by his ex-girlfriend Marie's dad to run off some heroin dealers that have started infiltrating the reservation. He's not interested though, until his nephew Nathan overdosed on heroin. Now he's out to find out who's bringing it in and stop them.

This book hooks you from page one. The characters are well developed and you really get to know and care about what happens to them. The author builds suspense and makes it really hard to put down this book. I loved it and I hope there's a follow up to it!

The author also gives us a glimpse of how the Lakota and other Indigenous peoples have been treated by the government and by other Americans and it was really disheartening to read. I learned a lot of things I didn't know about how the government has treated the Indigenous tribes over throughout history. I also appreciate that he put some recommendations for further readings on Indigenous history in the author's notes at the end of the book.

Thank you to HarperCollins, Ecco, author David Heska Wanbli Weiden, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

“Winter Counts” is perfect for anyone who likes the Jack Reacher novels and wants more diverse characters. Virgil Wounded Horse is an enforcer on an Indian Reservation – often paid to dish out justice because the US Government refuses to take on certain cases on Reservations despite overwhelming evidence.

When his nephew is set up in a drug charge, he’s out to find out who did it, who’s running the new drug trade on the Reservation, and put an end to it once and for all.

The story moves along FAST and at its heart is a good investigative mystery thriller about corruption.

Some fascinating reading in the story comes from Virgil and his nephew who are 2 of about 3 different generations of Native Americans who are moving further and further away from cultural traditions. Virgil himself holds on to guilt of being on a journey when his father was sick (after being told to do so) and he passed away while he was gone and though refusing to adhere to Native traditions after that - he ends up using a sweat lodge to find spiritual insight for clues as to who is selling the drugs later in the novel.

There is also a lot of interesting Native American history and laws that make the book more interesting than your regular vigilante justice novel and the struggle of identity relating to one’s culture and not fitting in to that one or another is universally recognized by those who live that duality and gives a good insight for those who don’t, making the book even more heightened in the experience.

Really great book that took me by surprise.

Thank you to Ecco books and NetGalley for early access to this title.

Winter Counts is the first book in a new mystery series starring Virgil Wounded Horse, a vigilante enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, who is hired by those seeking justice when the American legal system or tribal council fails them. Heroin has turned up on the reservation, and its presence has personally impacted Virgil. Enlisted by his ex-girlfriend’s father to find the heroin dealers, Virgil heads to Denver to find the heroin’s source and to piece together how seemingly unrelated events are connected. Weiden’s stellar writing and absorbing mystery is accompanied by a look at life on a reservation today. As an enrolled member of the Sicangu Lakota nation (the tribe that lives on the Rosebud Indian Reservation), Weiden credibly details what life is like on the reservation, the broken criminal justice system, what it means to be Native American in 2020, and the challenges faced by those trying to preserve their own cultural identity while also finding a place within their larger community.

This is a thriller about drugs on a reservation in South Dakota. The story moved slowly as we get to know the environment and characters. I loved hearing about the 'decolonized indigenous Native cuisine' movement. It was infuriating to read about the ongoing effects of colonization and legislation impacting indigenous Americans. I'm currently working through the essays in A Mind Spread Out on the Ground and it is similarly infuriating.

I thought some of the direction of the story was somewhat obvious, and at least one time period seemed like the outcome was unrealistic (but what the reader would want!) Overall, I enjoyed reading the story and wanted to know what else was going to happen. I will be looking for more from this debut author.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.

Another great Indigenous crime writer. Although the book has a compelling plot, its real strength is the character development--the main character, Virgil Wounded Horse, is a complex character, an outsider with an ambiguous relationship to his community and faith. I would read more about Virgil should David Heska Wanbli Weiden write a sequel or a series. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this book very much and consumed it in a day. While thug and drug stories are a dime a dozen this ones setting on an Indian reservation made it both fresh and interesting. I felt like in addition to a great story I was exposed to a culture I knew little about. I’m hopeful the author writes more with this character.

Unfortunately I did not finish this book. I did not care for the writing in it, and therefore after reading about 25% of it, decided to move on to other books. I am sure this will appeal to a lot of people. I do like thrillers, but the simple writing just never sucked me in.

I posted this review on my blog on September 14, 2020:

I thoroughly enjoyed this new crime novel set on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to the Sicangu Lakota nation. (Weiden is a citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation and received his MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts.) Virgil Wounded Horse is a Native American vigilante for hire: when people can't get justice through the reservation's official channels they turn to him to enact their own. This happens with depressing regularity because of the 1885 Major Crimes Act: certain felonies can only be prosecuted by the federal government, but at their discretion—and they typically decline to prosecute any case that doesn't include murder (Weiden says in his Author's Note that this circumstance is factual and all-too-real.) When Virgil's nephew gets entrapped in a fake drug bust, authorities more or less force the young teen to take a dangerous undercover assignment so they can nail the men who are trafficking heroin on the reservation. While the story is solid, this book shines for its setting, and its powerful exploration of identity. Though this reads as a standalone, Weiden left the door wide open for a sequel; I'm certainly interested in reading more. (Though the story is rarely graphic in portraying violence, the novel does begin with Virgil knocking out a child molester's teeth in a parking lot, please be mindful of the associated content.)

I really enjoyed this story.

It moved quickly and was addicting. I was shocked to learn about the struggles Native Americans have with prosecuting people (they can’t prosecute their own people for major crimes on the reservation) but I also enjoyed how it weaved what the life on the “Rez” (reservation) is like. The twist overall was perfect! It made sense, it flowed well and was timed perfectly. Oddly enough, the authors note was my favorite. I loved how he explained that even though this is a fictional story that these are also real issues they face on the Rez.

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.

This was a wonderful read with a protagonist that I really respected and admired despite his angry and violent past. His life experience is a perfect metaphor for how life on the rez impacts the people who live within its cultural boundaries. Deeply satisfying and gut wrenching read..

Virgil is a fully fleshed-out character, his losses and grief, along with his victories and growth. If this were to become a series (I think it would work well as a series, and with the excellent reception the novel has received I think there is a chance of that occurring), I hope to see more of Nathan, and hopefully learn about Aunt Audry. We don't actually hear anything about her, but I think the only remaining family Virgil and Nathan have (and the only woman family member) would be an excellent character.

Recommended for fans of character-driven mysteries and gritty crime fiction.

One issue I have with the book is that there is a brief mention where chronic pain patients are lumped in with drug abusers. Not true, ableist, and harmful to chronic pain patients and other disabled people. Finished the book and read the acknowledgments section, where the author states he relied on Dreamland for his information about opioids and heroin distribution systems. I never read Dreamland because I heard that it's ableist and stigmatizing of chronic pain patients. Checkout the Goodreads 1 and 2 star reviews if you want more information.

As this has come up, I'm going to note that for really fantastic disabled representation, I highly recommend Disability Visibility edited by Alice Wong, and Sitting Pretty by Rebekah Taussig. If you run out and buy/borrow Dreamland please also read these two books. Even if you don't, please read these books. Also read Haben by Haben Girma and The Pretty One by Keah Brown.

Content Warnings SPOILERS for Winter Counts:



suicidal thoughts; mention of past successful suicides; racism; xenophobia; rape; pedophilia; ableism (chronic pain patients lumped in with drug abusers); drug use/overdosing on heroin; child death.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #WinterCounts #mystery #OwnVoices

This book is a thriller - but also a lesson in the history and culture of native Americans, most notably the Lakota. The author, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, has obviously done his research and brings to life the numerous difficulties which the People face every day on the rez and out in the white man's world. Native Americans struggle to hang on to their language and culture and spirituality in the face of cruelty and degradation practiced by the white man's government, which has consistently broken all promises and treaties made with the indians. Although they are treated as second class citizens, the true owners of the land known as the United States of America can hold their heads high for they have a long history of honorable dealing. Too bad that those whole stole their land and locked them in reservations cannot say the same.

I liked the story line of this book, but even more, I was captivated by the characters. From the Old Ones through Virgil and Maria and finally to the youngest generation of Nathan and Shawna., Mr. Weiden has painted a picture of flawed but basically good people, and I was glad to see that the generations of native Americans came full circle in the end.

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!

Absolutely loved this debut novel and I hope it wins as many awards as possible. Virgil Wounded Horse is a complex thoroughly compelling character. Its plot and sense of place is outstanding. Will recommend to my readers who enjoy CJ Box and James Lee Burke.