baronessekat | 2021 Reading Challenge: A book by an indigenous author

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

On the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, law enforcement is mainly a joke. Because of obscure laws, any felony committed on the Res needs to be prosecuted by the Federal Courts. But unless it's murder, and even then it's iffy, things mostly never prosecuted and victims rarely see justice through legal means.

That's where Virgil Wounded Horse comes in. He's the Lakota's hired thug. He's hired to put a beat down on folks when the law looks the other way. It's not much of a living, but it allows him to care for his nephew, Nathan.

But on top of extreme poverty, there is another situation effecting the Tribe - drugs have come to the Res. Specifically Heroin and Pills. When Nathan gets tangled up with drugs, Virgil finds himself as both enforcer and victim.

+++++

3 stars is rather generous and is mostly for the narration of Darrell Dennis. I found the characters very one dimensional, the plot fairly predictable and the endings eh.

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