Presenting The Literary Voyeur: Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden. Reviewed by The Literary Voyeur  for In the Stacks.

Welcome to In the Stacks. My name is Megan. I have just read Winter Counts, the debut novel by David Heska Wanbli Weiden. This is an intense and moving contemporary crime novel that takes place on the Lakota Sioux Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The main character, Virgil Wounded Horse, has had a life filled with loss and hard luck. After losing his parents and sister, he assumes responsibility for his teenaged nephew, Nathan. Virgil works hard to be a good example for his late sister’s son while maintaining both his own sobriety and a risky job as the reservation’s go-to muscle for hire. When Virgil is asked to investigate the recent influx of heroin on the reservation, he is forced to confront both the evils of the American drug trade and the secretive inner workings of his own tribal nation. Winter Counts is gripping and powerful, and, in my opinion, marks David Heska Wanbli Weiden as a major new voice in literary crime fiction. Thanks for watching!