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.
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"[A] gritty gripping thriller…Weiden is from a branch of the Lakota tribe himself, and his book relies on deep research into its history and traditions.”
— New York Times Book Review
“You’ll love the tough-guy hero who refuses to back down to anyone.”
— Parade“This is crime fiction at its best.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)“This gritty thriller…offers deeper insight into racial identity and the violence that Native Americans face.”
— Electric Lit“Not simply a crime novel but a character-driven story about the meaning of justice in a colonialist country.”
— Literary Hub“Rings absolutely true…The sense of place is breathtaking and raw.”
— C. J. Box, New York Times bestselling author“A propulsive crime novel and a wonderfully informative book…with intrigue and authentic life.”
— Louise Erdrich, New York Times bestselling author"Winter Counts drops the hammer on page one and never lets up.”
— Stephen Graham Jones, author of MongrelsDavid Heska Wanbli Weiden is an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, a lawyer, and a professor. He received his MFA degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts. He is a MacDowell Colony Fellow, a Tin House Scholar, and the recipient of the PEN America Writing for Justice Fellowship.
Darrell Dennis is a native Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter and radio personality from the Secwepemc Nation in the interior of British Columbia. In addition to acting and comedy, Darrell is a writer whose works have been published by Playwrights Canada Press and Douglas & McIntyre Publishing. His short stories have been published in periodicals across Canada and the U.S. His first play, Trickster of Third Avenue East, was produced by Native Earth Performing Arts, which twice named Darrell their “Writer-in- Residence.” His semi-autobiographical one-man play, Tales of an Urban Indian, in which he explored themes of growing up as an indigenous First Nations Native American, was nominated for two Dora Awards and has been produced for multiple tours across Canada and the United States