Erika T. Wurth is a narrative artist for Meow Wolf, which is one of my favorite artsy places in the entire world. I was expecting a wild, weird, wonderful story with, of course, Indigenous influence.

I want to make it clear that the Indigenous history and culture in this story is great. The backstory on the Stanley Hotel, the medicine bag and Geronimo, information about AIM and the FBI. This story about a woman discovering the truth of her missing mother, an MMIW, would have been very close to a five star story...

...If it had cut out about half of the useless and boring subplots that go nowhere. At one point, I was about to start counting the scenes where Kari argues with her cousin Debby about her controlling husband, watches and reads Stephen King repeatedly, makes bologna sandwiches, and talks about buying the titular bar, but then I realized that if those scenes had been cut out, it would have been over half the book. Kari's mother gets so little "screen time" in this story, and for half the book Kari is insisting on believing a woman who had a newborn two days ago would just abandon her family. This would have made more sense if the grandparents had been more involved in her life and raised her to believe this, but not one person in the story ever told Kari her mother abandoned her, so why would this be the assumption of a 35 year old woman?? Then the ending where the learning about her mother is wrapped up into one to two paragraphs, I really wish this had been spread out, discovering how humorous and creative her mother was, discovering who she was outside of simply a statistic.

The characters do not act their age, or anywhere close to their age. Kari is 35 and Debby is 40, and they act like literal teenagers. While it is natural given the level of trauma experienced for them to be stunted in their maturity, it is a little unbelievable they would be this immature in every single interaction they have. At one point, Kari abusively screams at her disabled father after arbitrarily deciding with zero evidence that he killed her mother. In other scenes, Debby's husband repeatedly acts like his wife is going out and cheating on him when she is literally with her blood cousin, while he can go out and drink with his friends whenever he wants. He calls her a bad mother, threatens to take the children, and...well that plot went absolutely nowhere.

The one subplot that holds some actual weight is the discussion of Kari's sobriety and losing her best friend to an overdose and wondering why she lived and why her friend died. However we only ever see her deceased friend in two scenes where she is kind of a horrible person, mocking and insulting Kari's disabled father and fighting with Debby. We are told that Kari's friend was her closest confidant and so supportive, but we don't really get shown it in the longer scenes with her. It is mentioned Kari recovered from harder drugs but she still drinks, and never considers that her drinking is a problem, despite about 75% of the book involving her having a drink (did Budweiser sponsor this book?).

Also, let's talk about the title. White Horse is a bit of a misnomer. If you are expecting the central plot of the mystery of Kari's mother to have anything to do with the titular bar, you are mistaken. It does, however, bear some interesting symbolism. White Horse has multiple Indigenous references, however it is also slang for heroin and cocaine, and throughout the course of the novel, Kari trades the "White Horse" of drugs for the "White Horse" establishment, thus coming full circle from someone drifting through life into a successful business owner, and returning to her Indigenous roots by taking stake in a community business. I really do think this would have been so much better if Kari had been in the middle of achieving sobriety, there would have been so much opportunity for interesting scenes and parallels there.

I want to make it extremely clear that Erika T. Wurth is not a bad author. This story had all the parts of a very good novel about a woman who has become estranged from her family and culture and is able to uncover the mystery of her mother's disappearance. I cannot stress how close this book could have been to a five star read, only to end up as a two star read. I will give Erika T Wurth's writing another try, but White Horse was just not it.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

Buckle up, because this is a long and bumpy ride! You are in for a dark adventure. This is an especially wonderful book if you are a fan of Stephen King or his book The Shining. Thank you so much to Erika T. Worth, Netgalley, and Flatiron Books for the gorgeous physical copy!

Erika T. Wurth is going to be one to watch. WHITE HORSE is a recommended first purchase for collections where horror is popular.

Unfortunately this one was just not for me. I had to DNF it at the 33% mark. I didn't much care for the main character, the odd timeline, or the barrage of unnecessary scenes. This will be the book for someone but not me. I will not be putting this review on goodreads since I did not finish the title and I don't want to influence any readers to not give the book a try!

(CW: drug use, mentions of death, gore/death, pedophilia, abuse towards minors, SA).

If you're an Indigenous person in any way/shape/form, chances are you're already very familiar with the themes in this book. This is an eloquent love-letter towards Native culture, towards "urban" natives that may be stuck between familial traditions familiar to them and vices readily available in the public sphere. There is a lot to unpack in this story. To put it simply, this story overall is about healing, keeping your trauma hard and unforgiving like a shield to protect you, it's about the importance of letting go, but not without awareness, accountability.
This is honestly what I would consider the perfect Indigenous-led novel, it has all the family themes, the substance abuse, the strangled relationships between cousins and the community we reside, the constant gentrification against Indigenous customs & landmarks, abusive relationships, this book quite honestly has it all, with all the complexity you could possibly wish for in a story. Seriously, there's so much going on, there's a bunch of plot devices all happening at the same time, but it all leads to the inevitable climax.
I think this book was written so well, the pacing and the overall atmosphere of the story left nothing to be desired, as far as I was concerned. From the first few words, I was hooked, and I stayed that way for the entirety of the novel. This story is filled with vibrant supporting characters, none of which you are actually capable of forgetting. I love writing that is just so good that it carries onto every single character that makes an appearance, even the ones you don't really care for or think the story could've survived without. In this story, I felt as though every single person was vital to the plot in some way or another, every situation carried thge plot forwards & there was no dialogue that I felt was unnecessary, everything in this book has a purpose towards the execution of the plot, I really enjoyed the clear story-planning that clearly went on behind the scenes here.
I want to talk about why this book, as a whole, is so important to have been written. We have a main character who is described as Indigenous, however multiple times in the book it is clear that she feels, at least to some capacity, a bit less native, or "traditional" native than other Indigenous characters in the story. She equates participating in "old" Indigenous customs/celebrations to being a traditional Native person. This is an important representation, for all the displaced Indigenous folks who feel they have no claim to Native ancestry due to white-passing privilege or blood quantum. Throughout the novel, I got the impression that the author wanted the reader to notice the character development from the beginning of the novel towards the end, where our main character embraces a more gentle approach to life/feelings & also seems to be content with her ancestry, or at the very least understanding that every Indigenous identity is complex & not the same as anybody else's. Throughout this book we are face to face with her family trauma, & the themes that are discussed in this book are very rampant among Indigenous communities/reservations. We as a collective entity are all healing from generational trauma, every single day of our lives. This book felt very reminiscent of that. I felt, the entire way through, that this book is staring directly down into your Indigenous bloodline, and saying; "I know you, & I see you. It truly is a wonderful feeling to have while reading a book so close to your own heart.

"Some people are haunted in more ways than one.
Kari James, Urban Native, is a fan of heavy metal, ripped jeans, Stephen King novels, and dive bars. She spends most of her time at her favorite spot in Denver, the White Horse. When her cousin Debby finds an old family bracelet that once belonged to Kari’s mother, it inadvertently calls up both her mother’s ghost and a monstrous entity, and her willful ignorance about her past is no longer sustainable…"
Kari's mother mysteriously disappeared when she was only 2 days old. Years later her father was in a serious car accident, which rendered him mentally and physically unable to take care of himself. As a result Kari grew up quickly, falling in with wrong crowd drinking and doing drugs - until her best friend died of a drug overdose. Kari worked to turn her life around, trying to leave the past behind her when her cousin Debby finds an old bracelet that belonged to Kari's mother. When Kari touches the bracelet she begins seeing visions of her mother and the Lofa, a monster that seems determined to destroy her. It soon becomes clear that the visions will continue, and her very safety threatened, until she gets to the bottom of what truly happened to her mother.

I really enjoyed this book. While classified as horror, it felt more like a mystery/thriller to me. I loved the Stephen King references, down to Kari's stay at the Stanley Hotel. The book also referenced one of my favorite spots to visit whenever in Denver, the Tattered Covers Bookstore. I think that all of these places/references that I'm familiar with combined with great story telling made this such a fantastic read for me.
If you're looking for a fun, quick read that will pull you in quickly, this is the one for you.

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 (4.5)

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook.
On Sale Now.

Kari is an Urban Native living in Denver. She loves to visit her favorite dive bar, the White Horse. She actually hopes to buy the place one day. But, things change drastically when her cousin Debby finds a bracelet that once belonged to Kari’s missing mother.

I had some big feelings about Kari! She is a struggle in more ways than one. Honestly, I hated her one minute and loved her the next. She is definitely a complex character. She has been traumatized by the disappearance of her mother when Kari was just a baby. So, when her mother makes a ghostly appearance, it sends Kari into a complete tail spin.

I’m a bit late with my Halloween reads. But this book fits the bill! I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Indian lore and the Indian mystification. It really kept the story moving…oh and we won’t talk about the monster OR Geronimo’s weapon. Talk about edge of your seat suspense…THIS BOOK HAS IT!

Need a mystical ghost story with a spattering of Indian lore…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

White Horse by Erika T. Wurth tells the story of 35-year-old Kari James, an indigenous woman who lives in Denver, Colorado. Kari's cousin Debby finds an old bracelet that once belonged to Kari's mother. While Kari has never known her mother, she disappeared when Kari was 2 days old, once Kari touches the bracelet it summons her mother's ghost and other things that begin to haunt Kari day and night. Because of these ghosts popping up seemingly at the most inopportune times, Kari's life is a bit of a spiral as she tries to manage these "visions" as well as taking care of her other responsibilities. In order to rid herself of these ghosts, Kari must go down the road of figuring out what happened to her mother all those years ago.

White Horse was an atmospheric book that was perfect for spooky season. While the beginning starts off a bit slow and some of the characters are wholly unlikeable, it does pick up the pace and really keep you intrigued. I thought this book read more like a mystery/thriller novel rather than horror, but I do see some of the appeal for horror readers. I listened to the audio version of this book that was narrated by Tonantzin Carmelo and thoroughly enjoyed it as it was very well narrated.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

White Horse was one of my most anticipated novels of the year and it didn't disappoint! Spooky and atmospheric, White Horse is steeped in mythology and full of mystery and suspense.

Kari is a Native American living in Denver. Her mother abandoned her when she was two days old, her father was in a life-altering accident shortly after, and she's spent her whole life living with survivor's guilt following the death of her closest childhood friend. When her cousin Debbie unearths an old bracelet that belonged to Kari's mother, Kari accidentally unleashes a mythological monster - and her mother's ghost. Soon she is seeing visions and having horrible nightmares. Did her mother really run away or did something more sinister happy?

While the image and description of the Lofa was rather grotesque, this novel was more of a thriller/mystery for me and less of a horror novel. Just something to keep in mind if you're looking to pick this up and be horrified. I loved the Stephen King references and the scenes at the Stanley Hotel were a nice homage to him. This was a strong debut and I loved Erika Wurth's writing style. Her use of descriptive language was transportive and I felt like I was there with Kari while she sought to uncover the mystery of what happened to her mother. I thought Tonantzin Carmelo did a fabulous job narrating this novel and nailed the voices for all of the characters, especially Kari and Debbie.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for a review copy. I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.

*Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced of audiobook copy*

An incredibly moving and spooky read! While taking care of her father, Kari, a Native American woman, is overcoming her addiction, trauma, and sadness. She also lives her life as a different woman and enjoys whiskey, King novels, and metal. Kari is a witty heroine, and I loved being inside her thoughts, especially when her world began to distort and unravel. I also adored the warmth that was made clear by the way she cared for her friends.

In a horrifyingly realistic way, Kari's quest to learn her mother's fate is entwined with Indigenous legend. The mythology in this tale and its parallels to actual cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women captivated me to no end.

Fantastic narration. Great pacing throughout and the narrator's voice was perfect for Kari.

Interesting premise with writing that reflects the author's status as a debut. I'll be interested in catching their forthcoming work when they've developed more in this format. As is, I found the characters and plot too predictable or uncompelling to finish the work.

Incredible book and incredible audio! One of my most anticipated books of the year and I LOVED it. A perfect release and read for Native American Heritage Month - Erika T. Wurth is an urban Native of Apache, Chickasaw, and Cherokee descent.

Urban Indian Kari James has her life turned upside down when her cousin finds an old family bracelet that belonged to Kari’s deceased mother. The bracelet brings out Kari’s mother’s ghost, requiring Kari to confront her past in an effort to find out what really happened to her mother when she passed. It becomes a journey of self reflection and critical analysis on all of the relationships Kari has.

So much nostalgia and social issues. Kari loves heavy metal, Stephen King, and beer. Social issues if MMIW, racial tensions with police, alcoholism, and more.

Trust me, you will not regret stopping everything to read this book!

Content warnings: death, addiction, rape

White Horse
Erika T. wurth

I picked up WHITE HORSE on a whim after seeing a few keywords in the synopsis. It inspired me to pick up Stephen King’s memoir ON WRITING and to rewatch The Shining for the 100th time, like a fan girl with a new perspective.

I love when that happens!

In White Horse, we're following Kari James. Kari frequents a bar called WHITE HORSE which makes the title of the book simple. Kari has a fixation on Stephen King and is about to start living in her own horror movie when she receives a gift from her cousin.

I found the material felt original yet familiar. The horror novel followed a familiar pattern, contained elements that we are accustomed to as readers, and at the same time introduced details in the settings, characters, scenes, language, and dialogue which made it feel original and like a much-needed change in conversation.

I found myself cheering for multiple characters throughout the book. Hoping that one character will find their strength and that the next character will find their voice. I appreciated getting to know each character so well in such a short time.

I recommend this one to readers who read a lot of horror and those who are new to the genre. It will provide something for both readers. Special note for the format. I especially enjoyed the narration done by Tonantzin Carmelo on this audiobook.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the advanced audiobook!

WHITE HORSE...⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for accepting my request to audibly read and review White Horse.

Author: Erika T. Wurth
Published: 11/01/22
Narrator: Tonantzin Carmelo
Genre: General Fiction (Adult) -- Horror

A disappointing read. I was prepared for an adult horror story featuring an indigenous (Native American) person. What I audibly read was at best a young adult supernatural-mentioned story. The dialogue of a 35-year-old is insane, childish temper tantrums repeatedly, and apparently she resided in a bar. There was nothing to like. The Native American part was just thrown in, insultingly. There was a little slang, and the main character mocked that.

There was nothing to like, nothing to hope would happen with one exception. The main character once again sticks her irresponsible uneducated self, yielding a gun, in the marriage of her cousin who has two small children, and I did want the husband to use his gun and end my misery. It is just madness. The language was juvenile with profanity phrases spewed throughout.

I wasn't able to appreciate any of the spiritual aspects, and I think they are there. The overall story was so bad, it influenced how the story progressed.

Sadly, I can't find anything positive. and that bothers me.

This is an interesting book about an Indigenous woman who is given a bracelet that was her mother's. The same mother who disappeared when she was just a few days old. When she begins to see visions when she touches the bracelet, it leads her to uncover things in her past and to have to face things that she thinks are in her past. Can she face the things in her past or will they destroy her?

White Horse is about Carrie, an indigenous thirty-something woman in Denver whose mother starts haunting her. It's part mystery, part horror, and focuses on family and myriad complicated feelings and past experiences. The story is a little slow moving, but fascinating and I liked the focus on deeper issues like trauma, forgiveness, history, guilt, and regret. I listened to the audiobook which was wonderfully narrated by Tonantzin Carmelo.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

4.5 stars - This audiobook was fantastic! It is super creepy, I could see the entire thing play out like a horror movie, excellent descriptive details, fantastic character development, suspenseful - you get the picture. It was amazing. I did predict the ending, and there are some heartbreaking portrayals of abusive behavior that are extremely frustrating. As far as narration goes, Tonantzin Carmelo was perfectly dry, almost numb - exactly how you would imagine Kari’s voice to sound. Definitely recommend!

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Flatiron Books for the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I am having a hard time trying to find a way to review this book properly. The good and the bad I guess... The good, it has an interesting premise. There are some character interactions that can really pull you in and make you want to know more about it all. Some past familial mysteries, relics from distant history, side relationships that both do and do not play into the plot. The bad (maybe not bad, but the "just not for me" doesn't sound as good perhaps), those same characters with the constant need to rely on regret and disdain to make their world fit. I know that characters need to be broken to be deep. These characters didn't seem to work right though. There were a lot of references that both really cool to have in there and then they became overdone.
I don't know if maybe it was the way it was written or the narration that put me in a sort of place to disregard the settings as trite.
There is good content in here. It is not written poorly and I may have even approached this book differently if I was to read it later on. But for my taste, it was too reliant on bits and pieces from lore and characters that failed to deepen in any meaningful way. And I think I was expecting horror and got more tragic family drama.

The audiobook narrator was spectacular and truly brought this story to life.

4.5 goth stars rounded up to 5 for the subsequent reasons--NOTE: I have seen this discussed as a horror novel everywhere, but it's really not. It's more like a paranormal mystery with a tiny sampling of horror in some of the fantastical scenes. This is a big plus for me, a coward afraid of her own shadow who really doesn't read horror. Just giving all the genre-readers a heads up.

First, and most importantly to me, GIVE A STANDING OVATION to our 35-year old metalhead female main character who watches horror films, dresses in head-to-toe black and hangs out at dive bars. UNAPOLOGETICALLY. Yes, main characters can be over 30. Life goes on and we don't have to conform to what society dictates and Kari James is a legend and an icon.

Secondly, I had read everywhere that this is an Indigenous novel. but what I didn't know until I read it is that the main character is not only Indigenous, but of Latinx descent as well. So few books reflect our identities and even fewer reflect the intersection of our identities. This book explores a little bit of the "in between" Kari feels as not enough of either identity.

Thirdly, this is my first novel by Erika, but I just adored her writing style. It was very grounded, even during visions or as the action spiraled out. I always had a sense of time and place with nary an info-dump. The flow of the story was natural and captivated me.

I have more thoughts, but I just wanted to write these quick notes down with less than 2 weeks for publication.

Get this one on your radars, my loves.

WHITE HORSE by @erikatwurth was a ghostly mystery wrapped in native folklore and let me tell you, I AM HERE FOR IT! There are supernatural horrors here, sure, but the real life horrors make up the brutality laced into this story.

The characters are so dynamic, each full of demons and love and fear, and their relationships are complex. I absolutely loved both Kari and her cousin Debby and the sisterly bond they shared. Wurth exposes many realities of life living in the suburbs of Denver, living as an indigenous woman in America, and navigating a sordid past full of secrets.

Folklore is a major theme in many of the books I read and I was introduced to a new indigenous monster, The Lofa, in this story. The Lofa is a malevolent, ogre-like monster of Chickasaw folklore whose name literally translates to "flayer" or "skinner". 😱

I had the pleasure of listening to this story as an audiobook ARC (thank you to the author, @netgalley and @macmillan.audio ), and the narrator, @tonantzincarmelo did such an excellent job performing all the different voices of the characters that I almost forgot it was all one person. The scenes between Debby and Kari are particularly compelling with so much raw emotion and deep history behind them.

Read this one if you like a good mystery filled with folklore, found family, facing your past, and good beer at dive bars!

AVAILABLE NOW!!

🎠🎠🎠

Synopsis:
Heavy metal, ripped jeans, Stephen King novels, and the occasional beer at the White Horse have defined urban Indian Kari James’s life so far. But when her cousin Debby finds an old family bracelet that once belonged to Kari’s mother, it inadvertently calls up both her mother’s ghost and a monstrous entity, and her willful ignorance about her past is no longer sustainable…

This book is well worth your time and if you don't have any books to read for #nativeamericanheritagemonth this is highly recommended!