Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review! 

On the day that her Uncle Louie returns home to the reservation after many years away, Noemi Broussard is blindsided with the news that her boyfriend is dead. She doesn’t believe that he could have committed suicide. Alternately, we see Louie as a young man in the mid 80s. He takes care of his alcoholic mother and watches baby Noemi while her mother is at work. In the wake of a local woman going missing, strange things start happening--multiple bodies go missing from the cemetery and at a funeral, the corpse seems to speak.

I love that this takes place in the same world as the author’s previous work, Sisters of the Lost Nation. While I enjoyed Sisters of the Lost Nation, my main complaints were that I thought the alternating timelines were unnecessary and that it skewed more mystery/thriller than horror. I thought each of the alternating timelines in this book was interesting, but Louie’s portion of the story is much stronger, and you can see more character development in Louie than in Noemi. I think this is a perfect blend of mystery, thriller, and horror. I also really liked how the author integrated discussion about suicide and alcoholism within Native communities into his story. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

_Indian Burial Ground_ by Nick Medina is a powerful horror read told from multiple points of view and timelines. Noemi Broussard has found happiness until a tragedy takes her boyfriend Roddy. At the same time, her Uncle Louie returns to the reservation, bringing with him secrets from the past. As both seek answers for Roddy’s death, they also find that they share deep trauma and grief. Mental health, family, and Native lore are central to this read.

This book was dark but beautifully written! I loved the themes, the setting, and the way the author really put me into the story. I wasn’t sure about the beginning, but it was ABSOLUTELY worth every page!!

This novel brims with a lot of interesting ideas, wrapped up in a good deal of suspense. However, it didn’t quite work for me; I was interested and engaged the whole time, I wanted to keep reading, but I didn’t feel like it lived up to the potential of the story that it has at its heart.

I think the main reason for this is because the novel doesn’t really know what story it wants to tell. We have two main characters, Noemi and her uncle Louie, and the chapters cycle between those two perspectives, and, importantly, all of Louie’s chapters are telling a flashback that happened when he was sixteen and Noemi was a toddler, whereas Noemi’s chapters are the present day. It is the death of Noemi’s fiancé, in the prologue, that gets this novel started, and that along with the novel summary indicate this is Noemi’s story, but about 75% of the chapters are Louie chapters, telling the story of what happened more than three decades ago, and it doesn’t feel like there is anything that really happens in Noemi’s story, she is passive and doesn’t really grow or change (keeping in mind the entire present-day storyline spans the scope of a day). There is something to be said about inherited trauma and violence, and how the events of 1986 and the event that kicks off this book are related, have a spiritual connection or resonance…. But none of that is on the page. So the “main” story feels somewhat inept and weak, whereas all of the interesting parts happen in the explanatory story. I really enjoyed the Louie story, and the ideas it played with, and it feels like if more happened in the present-day, “main” story, and Noemi could have undergone a similar journey, it would have been more engaging and connected. Plus, the resolution of the 1986 story, while not bad in concept, felt easy and unearned in execution. Having him and his niece face down the horror and violence together three decades later would have given everything more weight, I feel. I feel like there was a lot of interesting story to mine and the book didn’t know which way to go, and so I was left a little disappointed. I like the narrative structure of jumping back and forth through time, and Medina has a way of keeping you invested in his generally well-rounded and interesting characters, but the balance between the two timelines and two stories just felt off, and they didn’t feel connected in a meaningful way.

The other thing that was conspicuous to me while reading was the way indigenous ideas or beliefs or practices were explained. It almost always felt like the narrator was just reading an encyclopedia entry. It felt didactic and not organic to the story. There are some occasions where the characters can explicate the meaning, such as when one character is practicing a warrior dance and another character is criticizing him, explaining why he is doing it wrong and not embodying the spirit or intention of it. That was a great bit of writing, because it allowed Medina to give info about the practice that many readers wouldn’t know while still moving the characters forward. However, occasions like that were few and far between, it was usually just the narrator, in the voice of Louie, explaining what different colors or iconography symbolized. It didn’t feel lived-in, but instead descriptive and academic.

Overall, I enjoyed the novel, I thought it had an interesting core idea and tried to explore important topics. Even though it felt a little slow in the beginning, once I accepted this was really Louie’s story and not Noemi’s, ignoring the summary and the prologue, I found it quite compelling. I just wanted more from it and felt like it had more ideas than execution. Still, it was fun to read.

I want to thank the author, the publisher Berkley Publishing Group, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Anything goes in this mythological horror. On this reservation, expect the unexpected! Noemi just wants a normal life, with no chaos. When her boyfriend is found dead, she loses all of her world. In her grief she begins to notice things just don't add up with his dead, and she isn't the only person to notice this. There is something terrible live on the tribal land and this entity is angry...

Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina was an amazing story with just enough uncomfortable characters to keep one interested. It took me a bit to get the back and forth in timelines, but it all made sense once that was figured out. A touch of horror but not gore made the story move and I look forward to reading more from the author.

Easily one of the best books I'll read in 2024. Nick Medina has done it again,

This book focuses on trauma, alcoholism, and suicide in indigenous communities. The author's note is important to read at the end. The monsters that haunt us do not have to consume us. This books has dual POVs (Uncle Louie when he was a teen and his niece he cared for, Noemi who is an adult in her POV). Both have secrets to uncover about others as well as themselves.

I felt disturbed at times at the things people did and the horrors that plagued others in the wake of these terrible things. The horror elements were done so well. There was so much trauma and sadness the characters suffered. That being said, there were also some very powerful moments stemming from the trauma these characters endured both in the present and past.

I really loved Medina's debut novel and this one does not disappoint. 11/10 recommend, five stars, etc!

This is truly worth reading!

Indian Burial Ground is a novel of horror and anxiety, by the author of Sisters of A lost Nation, and it is sure to keep you up tonight!

When Roddy seems to commit suicide on a reservation, his girlfriend Noemi is shocked. Fortunately her Uncle Louie has returned after many years for the annual pow wow. She hopes he can provide support as she searches for answers.

Medina sprinkles flashbacks to many years prior when Louie is just a kid and caring for his niece Noemi, his addicted mother and just trying to keep the house together. As soon as Louie could, he left the rez and has only just returned.

Medina provides more and more clues to the horror that haunts the reservation. His words are sharp and his descriptions on point. One of my favorites was comparing the feeling to "putting on shoes that were too small."
This is a special kind of horror thriller and it's unique setting and events will haunt you for many days to come....
#berkley #Indianburialground #nickmedina

This book weaves together elements of dysfunctional family dynamics, intergenerational trauma, desolate reservation life, Native folklore, and supernatural elements to create a horror tapestry that will disturb you in the way only a good book can.

The book bounces back and forth between Louie's life as a 17-year-old on the res, and modern-day when he returns to the res for a Pow Wow. Sadly he arrives right after his 38-year-old niece Noemi's boyfriend has been killed.

The circumstances of his death lead him down a rabbit hole into the past making him fear the horrors of that time are now repeating in the present. The hellscape he survived in the 80s centered around his family and members of his tribe, all connected by strange supernatural elements. He followed the string that tied all the events together. But it left him scarred to this day. Now he fears the terror is back to claim Noemi like it threatened to do when she was a child.

Excellent read. I will be reading more of Medina's work.

I'm normally not a horror reader, however the description of the book on NetGalley and the cover caught my eye and made me want to read this. I felt that it started a bit slow, and it took me until almost halfway through the book to get really hooked. After that the pace started up and I was eagerly turning the pages to find out where the story would go next. While I think the writing was well-done, and the theme of alcoholism and some of the events in the book are horrifying on their own, and the actions of the main characters and the end made me happy for them, I struggled with the ending of the book, as it did not seem like a satisfying ending given the build up during the novel surrounding the events that occurred at the beginning of the book. Overall, I would buy this book for my library, however I don't think it's one that I will be rereading.

I was lucky enough to win an e-ARC of INDIAN BURIAL GROUND by Nick Medina through a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and have a safe and happy holiday season!

4.5 stars

Nick Medina just writes a damn good story. It’s so much deeper than horror. It hits on true to life topics (often times those are more horrific than the fiction we read), social commentary, and has the elements of horror and mystery sprinkled in.
He has become an instant buy/read for me. And this books just helps to seal that decision.

What a treat. Horror fiction is just such a good genre now, and this book is no exception. Well written and briskly paced, this one manages to be a horror novel with a little bit of mystery in it as well, on top of some social commentary. Although it feels weird to point out any content warnings on a horror novel - you should know what you're getting into wading into this genre - do take them seriously if you have any triggers involving suicide, addiction, animal harm, or child death. Otherwise I would highly recommend this to anyone.

Enjoyed this nearly believable horror story of an Indigenous family and their community after the death of a young man by apparent suicide. Nick Medina is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors!

Medina has nailed the liminal space of gothic horror and suspense, walking the line between between supernatural and the darker parts of human nature with incredible skill and finesse. He also makes it impossible for readers to look away from the horrors being perpetuated on those our government has forced into generational trauma, poverty, and addiction, and hopelessness. 4 in 10 indigenous women in the United States has her first child before the age of 20 while in her teens and ~ 85% of indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit individuals report being abused - REPORT.

Also, there are maybe vampires. Talking corpses. Wereanimals. Demons. And murder.

Nick Medina has undeniably cemented his place as my favorite auto-approved horror author, a title he earned by making me jump from my seat and giving me goosebumps for days with his previous work, "Sisters of the Lost Nation." In "Indian Burial Ground," he not only maintains that momentum but kicks it up a notch, driving the entire narrative at high-speed terror and expertly hitting the brakes just before colliding with the brick wall of my adrenaline-soaked psyche, leaving me breathless. The last twist he expertly played left me utterly speechless; it slipped past my Spidey sense radars, and I certainly didn't see it coming!

The story takes us to an Indian reservation, unfurling a horrific, thought-provoking, mysterious, and mythical tale of a family navigating two timelines: the present and the mid-eighties. In the latter, the main character, Louie, is a seventeen-year-old burdened with more physical and psychological weight than he can bear. He grapples with holding his family together as his mother succumbs to the clutches of alcohol addiction, becoming a mere shell of herself. His aunt, Lula, a single teen mother, leaves him to care for her little daughter, Noemi. However, family strife is not the only challenge he faces. Unexplainable events begin to unfold around the tribe, with someone desecrating graves, stealing bones, including those of Louie's grandmother. A young boy with special needs unexpectedly straightens up in his coffin to speak, while Ern, an overweight man trapped in his trailer, acts as a peeping Tom, revealing the tribe's secrets and claiming Louie's mother has vanished into thin air. Is she drowned in the river, or has a sinister spirit targeted the tribe, especially its vulnerable members, such as children?

In the present day, Louie returns to his tribe to participate in a pow-wow ceremony, coinciding with the day his niece, the now 38-year-old Noemi, receives earth-shattering news. Her boyfriend, seemingly full of life, happy in their relationship, with a successful news anchor job and a bright future, has died in a suspicious accident—perhaps a deliberate act of self-harm. Could Louie's return trigger something in the tribe? Are unknown sinister forces resurfacing, just as they did three decades ago? Is Noemi's boyfriend connected to something more sinister, or does she truly know the man she dated?

The mysteries of the past intersect with the present, compelling family members to confront the demons they had once burned, caged, and locked away—demons that demand release.

In summary, this beautifully written novel weaves amazing mythical and cultural elements into supernatural horror, creating an honest portrayal of a dysfunctional family drama. It elicits a range of emotions, shaking readers to their core. Interestingly, amidst the bleak and dark narrative, the story manages to provide encouragement, urging readers to embrace the inner hero hidden within themselves. Read it, and then read it again!

A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for generously sharing this mind-bending book's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

I’m usually not a horror fan, but “Indian Burial Ground” turned out to be quite the exception to my usual genre preferences. The themes of mythology, intergenerational trauma, and some of the major challenges of reservation life (with both suicide and alcoholism receiving a great deal of blunt focus) were intertwined into the plot that made the story not just indigenous, but complexly so on multiple levels. It’s something I personally appreciate as a reader who’s always trying to get new exposure through the titles I pick. However, that’s just one side of the coin - it’s also still very much a horror novel. Not in a gory, slasher kind of way, but in a way where the narrative ran at a baseline anxiety-provoking hum, punctuated by moments and scenes that stood out shockingly and vividly in the mind.

Both the native and the frightening side aspects of the book were well-done in their own respective rights. And together, they complemented one another excellently in a way that makes me want to both keep an eye out for Medina’s next book and also see if I can get my hands on his previous indigenous-horror-thriller (“Sisters of the Lost Nation”) in the very-near future.

Indian Burial Ground is dark and unsettling and beyond depressing, but I also think I liked it? It's not a fun novel or even a particularly enjoyable one, but somehow it just works.

First of all, this is 100% a horror novel. The tags on Goodreads are accurate, but NetGalley has it in the general fiction and mysteries & thrillers categories. And, I mean, I guess Noemi's timeline does revolve around a mystery of sorts (did Roddy commit suicide or was it foul play?), but the book more heavily focuses on Uncle Louie's 1986 narrative, which is very much horror-based. There are multiple unpleasant deaths and an evil spirit and a bunch of creepy scenes. If you're not a horror fan, be forewarned. Also, there are trigger warnings galore – children die, animals die, there's substance abuse, there's suicide, and mental health issues abound.

Louie's timeline is particularly riveting, even though it's by far the darker of the two. I especially appreciated the Native American mythologies that are woven into the storyline, and the climax of Louie's story is simply fantastic in a “bad acid trip” sort of way. I also found its portrayal of substance abuse to be incredibly realistic and powerful, and it definitely drives home the damage addiction does to both the addicted and their loved ones. And the scenes with creepy, smiling people crawling backward to their doom? Nightmare fuel, for sure.

Noemi's story is much more mundane than Louie's, but it's also incredibly sad. You can't help but feel for her as she attempts to navigate her grief surrounding the loss of Roddy. I have to say, though, that I would have appreciated a bit more active investigation into Roddy's death, as it mostly consists of Noemi texting with his sister and following a coyote around (but, seriously, why oh why does no one help the coyote pups?!). I do love how she and Louie lean on each other while they come to terms with their respective traumas, however, and their family as a whole is quite sympathetic. I also like the way the story is wrapped up, with perhaps just a little bit of hope but nothing too Disney-esque (which would be totally and completely out of place in this novel).

My final rating: 4.35 stars, rounded down. Indian Burial Ground is a creepy yet poignant read that deals with horrors of both the supernatural and earthly varieties.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

This is a fascinating follow up to "Sisters of the Lost Nation," set in the same general area and with a similar (though possibly more intense) blend of supernatural/monstrous threats and the all-too-natural threats of human violence, intergenerational trauma, and settler-colonization. (Relatedly, there's a fairly big focus on alcoholism and suicide, so do be warned going in.) I wasn't thrilled with the depiction of a very peripheral character who was developmentally disabled, along with a slightly more central character whose fatness is described in some grotesque ways, but I'm happy to wait for others to weigh in on those things.

Indian Burial Ground is a novel steeped in mystery, mythology, and political realities about life on a reservation.

Noemi has a boyfriend and her life is coming together. They have plans to leave the reservation as her uncle Louie did a decade before. Then the boyfriend commits suicide -- or does he.

Uncle Louie returns and the two search for the mystery behind the suicide. Some secrets are best left buried in this place where an elderly woman commits suicide and a corpse sits straight up and speaks.