White Horse

I was bored. Too many unnecessary side plots. 

I don't do a whole lot of horror, but usually in October I get a hankering for something a little spooky. This was a lightly scary tale by an indigenous author featuring urban Indian characters, and a folkloric monster that terrorizes the main character, Kari, who begins seeing horrifying apparitions of her mother, who disappeared when Kari was two days old.

This is a very interior book, you're mostly in Kari's head, not sure if she's a reliable narrator, but still rooting for her to get her stuff together. She doesn't have a lot of people in her life, and she is a primary caretaker for her dad, who has a brain injury, and her life has not been easy by any stretch.

There were some continuity things I noticed (I received this from Book of the Month a couple years ago, maybe this was an early version?), but the writing was engaging and the story pretty quick paced once I got into it. I enjoyed getting a perspective of modern, less traditional indigenaity (sp?) too, which I have not read much about. I'd check out other of Wurth's books in the future. 3.5 stars.

CW: alcohol (including drinking and driving), drug abuse/overdose, death, ghosts, racism, child sexual assault (off page), smoking, police/FBI, guns

I have very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand I originally picked this book up on a very bad day and the few pages I had read didn't really motivate me to pick it up again. On the other hand, I don't have to worry about wanting to read this book again bc I won't. This book isn't horror and I don't know why it was classified as horror, it's a mystery at best. And I've read General Fiction that has more mystery than this one did. Like sure there was a monster and some spooky visions but I don't think that's enough to classify it as a horror. Parts of the book seemed to be making a commentary on the cycle of violence, drug abuse, and poverty that many Native Americans experience. But other parts of the book just seemed overly stereotypical. And there was definitely a missed opportunity on the AIM. Idk the second half of the book kept me engaged but I'm not convinced it was worth it.

Also, the FBI figuring out the murderer based purely on a FOIA request is a bit unbelievable.
I really need to start reading the backs of books.

White Horse is a gritty horror novel about facing your ghosts and inner demons, both figuratively and real-life. However, where the story succeeds in atmosphere it is held back by lackluster characters and messy subplots. Overall, I'd describe this as more of a drama/thriller with some light horror elements. It has a weak start but a decently strong ending.



The story quickly introduces our main group of characters that includes Kari, our main character, her cousin (also best friend and surrogate mother/big sister figure) Debby and Debby's husband Jack. Debby and Jack's relationship is incredibly toxic with that introductory chapter showing just how childish our cast of characters are as they pressure Kari to find a boyfriend and buy a bar and just generally be a different person. Which I found so odd thinking back to this chapter by the end of the story. Kari doesn't share the same ideals and views as the stereotypical stepford woman but she is well put together, responsible. She has come a long way, leaps and bounds, once you know her past. She has put forth a lot of effort, has two jobs, and helps take care of her sick father. It's safe to say I really don't like these characters surrounding our MC.

The first 2/3 of this book feels very long winded, hard to focus on. I found myself rereading parts. It's swept up in Debby and Jack's relationship woes. It isn't until page 200 that I feel the story really grabbed my attention and held it. I then cared for Kari, her story and truth (her mental state) and wanted to see her take power over her grief. Once Debby is reintroduced, SHE feels like a different character. By the time we reach the climax, albeit it was predictable and cheezy, I'm having a great time and enjoying the characters and their interactions. I'm not sure what changed by this arc of the story, but I'm glad it did.

The pacing for this one really bumped it up a star for me. Read it in like a day, some intense assaulty moments but still super readable noiry thriller with some supernatural elements.