Empire of Wild

not the thriller/horror vibes i was expecting but still very good

Overall I struggled a bit with this book and had some issues with it, for example the pacing of the beginning and the conclusion felt a bit abrupt. I do recommend for those who like mystery and who are interested in a spin on a traditional Métis story.

It took me about all month to finish this book and it was completely worth it! This book was so rich and had some truly creepy moments. More than anything it left me with wanting to learn more about Métis history and the colonization of their land.

I may have found the article Dimaline mentions in this interview about her inspiration for this novel if anyone else was interested.

I loved parts of this and didn't love others. Joan is a great character, and I adore Zeus. What worked for me was the family times- being with the family, learning about traditions and the aunt (hoo, she needs her own book!) I tuned out with the Jesus tent people and so much detail about in and out of motels. I agree with some other reviewers that this is more of a thriller, and not horror. It is, however showing up on a ton of horror lists. Just a head's up.
Dimaline has chops though and I'd like to see where the next book goes. I'm assuming there will be a next book?

I'm deeply tired of cliff hangers. Excellent characters and solid writing saves this from a 2 star rating.