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White Horse

Review

White Horse

After a childhood and young adulthood rocked by tragedy and loss, Kari James finally has settled into something of a rhythm. She earns money waitressing and bartending; helps care for her father, who has been disabled since being in a car accident when she was young; and spends evenings with her best friend, Debby, down at White Horse, the so-called Indian bar that is near where she lives in Denver.

"[WHITE HORSE] contains a suspenseful mystery plot interwoven with the supernatural. Both of these elements build off one another in ways that only amp up the tension."

But things have grown a bit unsettled lately. Debby's controlling husband, Jack, is accusing Kari of monopolizing his wife's attention, and Kari's fear of losing Debby is bringing back troubling memories of another lost friend, Jaime, whose death from a drug overdose might not have been Kari's fault exactly, though it sure doesn't feel that way. And then, when Kari is given her mother’s old bracelet, embossed with many different symbols from various Native American tribes, she begins having terrible visions.

The visions start out abstract and horrifying, but gradually grow more realistic and pointed, seeming to lead Kari toward an investigation of her mother's unsolved disappearance and presumed death when she was only two days old. Guided by her visions and emboldened by how they lead her to relatives she never knew about, she embarks on a frightening journey that could provide answers but also could result in the loss of everything she holds most dear.

Erika T. Wurth's WHITE HORSE is many things, including an ode to old-school horror novels (some pivotal scenes take place at the Estes Park Hotel that inspired Stephen King's THE SHINING) and heavy metal music. It contains a suspenseful mystery plot interwoven with the supernatural. Both of these elements build off one another in ways that only amp up the tension.

Kari's identity as Native American also is pivotal to the novel. Although she always has identified as an "urban Indian," she has been skeptical about Native American spirituality and her mother's one-time activism within the American Indian Movement. But as she begins to follow her visions, which include scary encounters with the Lofa, a terrifying ogre from Chickasaw folklore, she feels more connected not only with her heritage, but also with the history of her family.

By the end of WHITE HORSE, Kari --- who starts the book feeling practically alone in the world --- recognizes the web of relationships that have made her who she is and given her the courage to take brave new steps in her life.

Reviewed by Norah Piehl on November 4, 2022

White Horse
by Erika T. Wurth