This was one of my most anticipated upcoming books for this year and boy, did it not disappoint! The story is told alternatively through the point of view of four friends who have drifted apart after an ill-fated hunting trip 10 years earlier. Almost 10 years have passed since they were busted on an illegal hunt on a section of their Blackfeet reservation when some eerie events start happening. At first, these events seem plausibly coincidental, perhaps just a trick of the mind....And then suddenly, boom! Jones has your jaw hitting the floor...and just when you're ready to pick it up again, boom, back on the floor! It's hard to say too much more without giving away spoilers but trust me, this is a must read for anyone into literary horror. Well-developed characters, excellent pace, and just the right amount of spooky stuff (including some non-gratuitous gore), I highly recommend this book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, this one just didn't work for me.

I was expecting some gritty horror and it ended up being much more literary. It was a very slow burn for me and took a while to get going and even then, I found myself struggling to read it. That's not to say that others will not enjoy this book! It has been getting some other awesome reviews and I think the storyline is pretty cool. Perhaps it was my mood, but this one is not a favourite of mine and that is not the fault of the author at all. Some books just don't work for some people, but this book definately has an audience out there.

It's an Own Voices story about a group of Native American men in Blackfeet Nation. One decision made years ago is now affecting their current life and surroundings and something out there is attempting to make the group of men pay. They are put in a desperate struggle fighting for their lives against an entity hell bent on revenge.

I think the way the author used their own voice to showcase Indigenous life was really great and this book is a great way to support diverse voices. If you're a fan of horror and don't mind literary fiction, then definately give it a try! I wish I liked it more but you can't like them all!

For the most part, I liked this dark, tense story and the shifting narrative. It kept me feeling unsettled and off balance, and eager to see where the story would go.

Thank you to NetGalley, Stephen Graham Jones and Simon and Schuster Canada for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This story is so unique in the way that it is told and the storyline itself, which is so refreshing. It does take a little bit to get into the story, but when you do, you are trying to find out exactly who or what is hunting these four characters. I loved the dark and suspenseful aspects of this story and there is a bit of gore – which is something I actually enjoyed. The ending was perfect for this novel, as I love when everything comes back around. The folklore telling to this novel really made it all the more interesting and made it feel like it was an Indigenous tale being told to us by an elder. It was definitely an interesting novel and I can’t wait to see what Jones comes up with next!

Out July 14th!

First of all, I need to talk about the language and writing style of this book. Because at first I found it really difficult to get into a flow of reading.

It almost felt similar to reading a translated version of a book rather than reading it in its native language. By that I mean, the sentences felt clipped; trimmed. Certain word choices felt awkward. The grammar was often questionable. It was almost as if the author was skipping words that were needed to properly support the sentence. At times I felt like I had to break apart and rearrange the authors words before they could enter my mind (like when translating or deciphering a thick accent).

But then something clicked for me that made me appreciate that this writing style was just the author's distinct voice. The sentence structure and verbiage was more casual jargon (with cultural touchstones and influence) rather than strictly adhering to "proper" English. That added extra depth and dimension to this story. The language and writing style (as I chose to interpret them) were deliberate choices meant to reflect a unique and authentic version of these characters.

Now onto the story:

This started as a bit of a slow burn. It wasn't until about 30% of the way through that things started to pick up, and by the 38% mark I literally gasped from shock (something I almost never do when reading). From there it just got wilder and wilder, in the most horrific and interesting ways.

It's not often that a horror novel will genuinely shock me, but this one truly was exceptional.

Okay, now, to speak more about this, I'll need to get into some plot details, so this is where the mild spoilers kick in...

At first we're introduced to Lewis. Through him, we're given the backstory of "what happened that night". The reveal of what Lewis and his friends did really didn't seem all that evil or sinister to me. It was definitely against the law and morally unjust, but I wasn't all that appalled or horrified by their actions. Sometimes people do bad things. What comes later however...

I hesitate to call it karmic justice as it's closer to bloodthirsty vengeance, but for a horror novel, that's kind of what you want, right?

As we shift from character to character, we follow this trail of pain and destruction from Lewis through to Gabe and Cassidy's lives. I honestly enjoyed the brutality of this book. It was dark and sinister and did not shy away from its unique brand of horror.

I don't know that I could recommend this book to everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is the spookiest novel I have read in a long time. Addressing themes of animal hunting, cultural perceptions about the Native Indians community in United States and how these have gotten engraved in the community itself, The Only Good Indians is a thought provoking book about the choices we make in the heat of passion and the consequences we never see coming. I enjoyed it because it was unique in its approach and would highly recommend it if you are looking for a book to open your horizons about cultures, both human and animal, and how they are intertwined.

The Only Good Indians is an eerie novel about four friends Lewis, Gab, Cass and Ricky. Ten years ago, they put down a huge herd of elks – illegal hunting. They were not supposed to be hunting in that territory (it was reserved for Elders of the Reservation) and in the midst of their blood lust, they killed a young pregnant elk. Can you guess what’s coming to haunt them?

In the ten years that have passed (the book does address why now?), all four of them have been banned from hunting. They have thought about that night and felt remorseful for it to varying degrees but that is not enough. The story is divided into four parts, depicting the revenge that an Elk spirit extracts on each of the men, sometimes driving them to madness, eradicating the people they are close to, similar to how her own family was killed during the mad hunt. It was kind of like the movie It Follows at times.

Many thanks to the publisher for making this book available to me through NetGalley.