
Horror
White Horse
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This no-nonsense, heavy-metal-obsessed Indigenous woman is determined to confront family ghosts even if it kills her.
Supernatural
Family drama
Rugged
Snarky
Some people are haunted in more ways than one.
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 . . .
Haunted by visions of her mother and hunted by this mysterious creature, Kari must search for what happened to her mother all those years ago. Her father, permanently disabled from a car crash, can’t help her. Her Auntie Squeaker seems to know something but isn’t eager to give it all up at once. Debby’s anxious to help, but her controlling husband keeps getting in the way. Kari’s journey toward a truth long denied by both her family and law enforcement forces her to confront her dysfunctional relationships, thoughts about a friend she lost in childhood, and her desire for the one thing she’s always wanted but could never have.
There was something strange, mysterious even, about the White Horse tonight. Normally, it was merely an Indian bar. My Indian bar. But there was a milky, dreamy quality to the red lights swinging over the pool tables, like the wind from the open doors was bringing them something new, something I’d pushed away for as long as I could remember.
“Debby, do we have to talk about her again?” I took another swig of my beer and slammed it back down, eyeing my cousin as I did. She would never let this subject go, no matter how much I rebuffed her. I sighed, taking in the dank, wet-wood smell of the bar, the harsh laughter of the bikers in the booth behind me.
“The thing is, I found— ”
I interrupted her with a brush of my hand.
I hoped Nick, the bartender, would come by and ask if I needed a refill, but all I could see was the mirror in front of me, the words Miller High Life emblazoned in gold cursive on the front. Right next to it a sign read, FIRST FIGHT. LAST DRINK. PERMANENT 86. Besides us, the bartender, and the bikers, the White Horse was empty. It was always empty, but I loved it. I loved the long wooden bar, the cats wandering in and out; the mangy orange one was my favorite. She liked to sit on top of the bar and let me pet her while she closed her cloudy eyes and purred.
Debby shifted her weight on the stool, the plastic crackling as she did, the bar stirring around me like a bad dream.
“All I’m saying is that you don’t know your mom’s story.”
White Horse is the kind of book that your cousin who wears a leather jacket year-round and brings a flask to the family reunion might write. In other words, it is very very cool and will give you just the right amount of heebiejeebies. Smell the pages—do you catch that whiff of whisky stains and old cigarettes?
At the center of this novel is Kari James, an urban Indian woman who has been mainlining Stephen King and heavy metal for a few decades and most nights can be found nursing a beer at the watering hole that gives this novel its name. Then one day Kari’s cousin bequeaths to her a family heirloom, and suddenly all manner of ghosts—past, present, and future—begin making their presence known. This turn of events sends Kari on a hunt for answers—most importantly of all, why her mother disappeared when she was just a child.
Erika T. Wurth has written a book that is every bit as fierce and complex as the monsters that populate your imagination. More, she has shown the ways that wounds personal, familial, and societal fester and grow when hidden. Perhaps the scariest game in town is our own history. But books like White Horse might just be the tool we need to properly confront and ward off unwelcome spirits.
Creya C.
Enfield, CT
This book was such an unexpected surprise. Justice is served! This was an entertaining read complete with some Indigenous lore. It wasn’t too scary. I would recommend this Book of the Month selection.
Stacey D.
Fort Myers, FL
What struck me most was how The wounds of Kari’s past all played a part in what is a thriller that gets tighter the more you read. Well done. I really loved the Stephen King influences also. Creepy!
Victoria K.
Mundelein , IL
What an enjoyable debut novel- sort of light horror with a strong homage to Stephen King and with great appeal for The Shining fans especially, I liked a bracelet leading Kari to the truth of her mom!
Heather I.
Lombard, IL
How to describe this book when it defies definition and genre? An urban Indigenous supernatural horror story is on point but insufficient. It is also a rumination on chosen family, ancestral legacies.
Samantha L.
Bound Brook, NJ
Was this book written for me? Is my brain being stalked? I mean, it was literally EVERYTHING I look for in a story. Ghosts, bad ass females, drugs, dark humor, a trip to the Stanley Hotel?! ..sheesh.