White Horse (out tomorrow!) is an Indigenous horror/ghost story along the vein of Stephen Graham Jones' work. The protagonist, Kari, is an urban Indian who is haunted figuratively by her childhood best friend, and literally by her presumably dead mother who disappeared when Kari was two days old. Along with her visions of her mother's ghost, Kari is also pursued by a mysterious yeti-like monster that leaves behind a smell of rancid meat. If Kari is going to escape the monster and free her mother's ghost, she has to dig into her family's past, and tap into mysterious forces that will lead her to the truth about her mother's disappearance.

This book definitely has a very distinct vibe; it felt grungy and mysterious, and also kind of magical in a contemporary-fantasy kind of way. Kari is a relatable character that's easy to root for, despite her rough past and admitted flaws. The plot was a bit up and down for me. I thought the beginning of the book was slow to get moving, but the middle of the story was a wild ride (including a visit to the hotel that inspired "The Shining"). The ending, however, was a bit anticlimactic, and the twist (if you could call it that) was rather predictable. That being said, this is a new addition to the contemporary horror genre that's definitely worth checking out. I'm looking forward to what Erika T. Wurth puts out next.

This is my favorite kind of horror, where the truth is blurred with legends and family ties. I loved reading this book. It has soulful feelings of Stephen Graham Jones and heart that Erika gives of her own. I am looking forward to hearing more of her writing voice.

This is a ghost story. I didn't find it particularly scary, more haunting.
I enjoyed the Native American lore, Colorado setting and Stephen King references.
Kari is a bad ass, intriguing character who I would love to have a drink with at the White Horse.

Urban Indian Kari must delve deep into her past when she is gifted a bracelet that makes her experience visions of her mother’s ghost. This story has elements of coming-of-age, murder mystery and horror.

35-year-old Kari James has filled her life with heavy metal, Stephen King novels, and beers at the White Horse with her cousin Debby. Her mom disappeared when she was only two days old and her heartbroken father has been permanently disabled from a car crash most of her life.
When Debby finds a family bracelet that once belonged to Kari's mom, it manages to stir up her mother’s spirit… and a mysterious creature.
Kari is determined to discover what happened to her mom; which means confronting her dysfunctional relationships and the loss of a friend while connecting with her mom’s side of the family.

White Horse is an interesting mix of contemporary mystery with horror elements and Native American legend. Kari is a solid character that I was rooting for from page one. I loved the elements of horror, especially the link to Stephen King’s The Shining.
My only complaint is the relationship between Debby and her husband. It often got in the way of Kari’s story and felt completely unnecessary. The story struggled in the middle but luckily regained its footing for a solid ending as it explores heavy topics of family/generational trauma and the very real horror of the murdered and missing indigenous women crisis.

Thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. White Horse is scheduled for release on November 1, 2022.

Absolutely loved this book. It was incredibly dark and heavy at times, but the author used such powerful metaphors to show generational trauma in a new way that tied heavy metal and horror references into it. I'm not even doing a very good job reviewing this because I feel like that's how difficult it is to describe what was done well here, which sometimes is what makes a good book; an indescribable feeling you connected to. Highly recommend, with some warnings for a lot of darkness.

What a fantastic and unique horror novel. I loved pretty much everything about this book. In terms of the horror elements, Wurth gives a fresh and new spin on a haunted object story, drawing out not only ghostly scares, but also some wonderful meditations on grief, spirituality, family dysfunction, and the continued traumas that Indigenous people in America have to live with at the hands of a racist society and history. I loved how Wurth brought in aspects of Indigenous belief systems and mythologies, and applied them to this poignant and scary horror story. I also loved Kari as a protagonist, as she has a lot of depth and complexities and is also very humorous and wry. Watching her try and figure out what happened to her mother as she is haunted by her ghost as well as by visions of a monstrous creature, had some great horror moments, including a love letter to the Stanley Hotel where THE SHINING came to be.

WHITE HORSE is one of the best reads of the year for me. I loved it.

Top tier horror and a very promising debut from Erika T. Wurth. A love letter to native Colorado, dive bars, heavy metal, and Stephen King, wrapped in a terrifying story about murder, betrayal, and intergenerational trauma. Wurth crafts a prickly but extremely relatable protagonist in Kari, and surrounds her with an engaging cast of friends, family members, and opaque antagonists. The end had me sobbing in the bath tub. Very thankful to have picked this one up.

What a fabulous entry into the canon of Indigenous horror -- Wurth's debut moves at a compelling place, with Kari's growing distress fueling the increasingly twisty mystery of her missing mother and the haunted bracelet. The familial relationships are taut and tender, and Kari's overwhelming grief makes each of the relationships all the more poignant. The horror elements are sparse but effective, and the larger social commentary is well placed. All in all, a fantastic debut novel that will certainly earn a place on our shelves!

"White Horse" was a complete disappointment. I had trouble empathizing with the main character. She was so childish, but there's a reason why she acts that way, but still, she was annoying. Also, the dialogue did not work for me. It never felt realistic. I kept thinking, this is not how regular people speak. I think the overall plot was interesting, but I'm the kind of reader who needs beautiful writing and compelling characters to enjoy a novel.

I liked the main charcter, the conversations and the overall plot, though it sometimes felt all over the place. I didn't really like/understand Debby for half the book and I hated her husband. I don't know why it kept being said that he wasn't a bad person, when he clearly was. I think this would have been better as a short story.

I loved this book! I went into it a little blind, not having heard much about it. The premise sounded interesting and it definitely met and exceeded expectations!

Kari is a Native American woman who hates her mother for disappearing when she was only 2 days old and she blames her mother for the brain damage her father has (resulting from drinking and driving, which he was doing because he was grieving the loss of Kari’s mother). Kari is given a bracelet by her cousin Debby. The bracelet has a certain power and Kari starts seeing things. For a couple different reasons, she starts to dig into what happened to her mother.

The character development in this book is SPOT ON. There were moments that I was frustrated by Kari (Debbie too, to a lesser extent), but the growth she goes to as a person on her mission is remarkable and well-articulated.

Totally worth a read. I also learned a fair amount about Native American culture, which was interesting.

I loved this book--and that is a big surprise to me. Stephen King's stories have often given me nightmares, so I was rather cautious about reading WHITE HORSE by Erika T. Wurth. But I wanted to read a book written by an urban NDN and especially a woman who is an urban NDN. After a slightly tentative start, I could not put this down. There's so much to love: the characters are so richly written, they feel like they could be my friends and neighbors; the world is alive--every location, every event, whether past or present; the story is loaded with emotion and high stakes; and Kari discovery and growth is very gripping. Many of the turns were surprising, jaw-dropping surprising, and the conflicts between characters felt very rooted in character, whether it was from past experience or current needs or both. I often work with my creative writing students to consider first and last images in fiction and I will absolutely be using WHITE HORSE for this exercise. The opening and closing images of this book are the perfect encapsulation of Kari's story. I also really appreciate a book where Indigenous voices, characters, and experiences were centered; some of the characters reminded me of my grandmother and the stories she shared with me. More Indigenous-centered are reaching shelves, but there still aren't enough. I'm also thrilled that when a student tells me they love Stephen. King, I'll be able to hand them WHITE HORSE.

A spectacular debut - Erika T. Wurth is going to do big things. A recommended purchase for all collections.

I very much appreciated Kari's story, even though I am not of her generation, nor do I share her musical tastes or many other life choices. I particularly enjoyed the ways in which she incorporated both ghostly manifestations from her Urban Native heritage, and also contemporary literary horror tropes.

I had to think about White Horse for a few days. This isn't a bad thing. A book that makes a reader think is better than a book that's immediately forgotten.

I like the characters very much. Kari seems like a cool person to know but I probably wouldn't hang around with her. Lots of drinking, lots of smoking, and way too much eyeball rolling. My eyeball-roll-o-meter went off the charts. When the characters aren't smoking, drinking, or rolling their eyeballs, they have interesting family dynamics going on. Lots of love and attempts at understanding between most of them. Kari's care of her father is especially touching. Some sexual and mental abuse but there is comeuppance. awaiting.

Oh, and Kari loves cats. I have to like a character who loves cats. (I have one beside me right now as I write this. A cat, not a character.)

Now for the horror parts. I want more to happen faster. We keep seeing Kari's dead mother crying or screaming or bleeding, but it happens so often that the jump scares cease to be scary. At least her ghost mom wasn't rolling her eyeballs. But hey, that would be scary seeing a ghost rolling its eyeballs. I also think the supernatural powers that be should have just given Kari the warclub instead of making her stay in an expensive hotel to find it. Do supernatural entities own stock in The Stanley Hotel? I know Kari is a fan of The Shining, but really, it would have been cheaper if the warclub came with an order of burgers and fries at McDonalds. That would be a spooky Happy Meal surprise.

White Horse is a gripping mystery as to why and how Kari's mother died. And Auntie Squeaker is a cool name.

Thanks to Netgalley and to Flatiron Books for allowing me to read and review White Horse.

A wonderfully timely read that had me on the edge of my seat both in terms of the haunting elements and also the gripping mystery of a woman understanding where she's come from and where she is to go.

This novel blends a very strong female main character, a native ghost story, a family mystery, and a gritty, city environment. It has a very strong atmosphere created mainly by its protagonist, Kari, an urban Indian who loves heavy metal and Stephen King books, who is having visions while trying to find out what happened to her mother. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

A wonderful mix of murder mystery and ghost story, a strong main character, and distinct sense of place made this horror-lite novel well worth reading!

This is on the grittier side of horror (drug abuse, death, controlling relationships) but those that can hang are going to love it. Kari is a kickass protagonist who navigates real world horrors on top of supernatural ones to uncover what happened to her mom so long ago. Her relationship with her dad was the tenderness the book needed to balance it out.