October 14, 2024 is Indigenous Peoples’ Day and if you’re looking to add more Indigenous authors to your TBR, then look no further. From stories about missing and murdered Indigenous women to creepy thrillers and horrors featuring Indigenous legends and culture, these are some of the best thrillers and horror books by Indigenous authors you don’t want to miss out on!
Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie
Fifteen years ago, Syd Walker barely escaped from unspeakable violence in her Oklahoma hometown and vowed she would never return. Now, Syd works as an archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, protecting Rhode Island’s land. When Syd’s sister, Emma Lou, disappears and a skull is found near the crime scene Syd escaped from back home, she returns knowing that Emma Lou’s disappearance and the skull cannot be ignored like so many other missing and murdered Indigenous women have. Upon her return, Syd finds that there are cases of missing Indigenous women that go back decades.
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And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott
From the outside looking in, Alice seems to have the perfect life including a beautiful baby, a husband whose academic area of study is Alice’s Mohawk culture, and their new home in a posh area of Toronto. The reality is Alice doesn’t feel a connection to her daughter, she’s having a hard time being the only Indigenous woman in the community, and she is still grieving the loss of her mother. When Alice begins to hear strange noises and feels like her neighbor’s animosity is turning into threats, Alice fears something horrible is on the horizon.
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Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
Mackenzie wakes up with a severed crow’s head in her hands. When she blinks, the head is gone. Night after night, Mackenzie dreams are haunted by memories she had before her sister Sabrina’s death. When reality begins to send Mackenzie eerie signs, like a murder of crows stalking her in the city, and she receives threatening texts from someone claiming to be Sabrina, she knows she has to do something. Mackenzie then travels to her hometown of Alberta not realizing the reunion with her family is about to make her dreams even worse.
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Where They Last Saw Her by Marcie R. Rendon
Quill has lived on the Red Pine reservation in Minnesota her whole life and knows exactly what happens to Indigenous women like her. As Quill trains for the Boston Marathon, one morning she hears a scream and follows it only to find tire tracks and a single beaded earring. When a second woman goes missing and is presumed taken, Quill is determined to get to the bottom of who is taking these women starting with the group of men working the pipeline construction near their homes. As she gets closer to the truth, another woman goes missing and Quill vows to get justice for all of the women on the reservation.
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I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
1989, Texas. Seventeen-year-old Tolly Diver is about to be cursed to kill for revenge. In this fictional story, Stephen Graham Jones writes about the Texas he grew up in, what it was like to be an outsider, and incorporates the slasher genre he loves so much from the perspective of Tolly, the killer, writing his own autobiography.
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White Horse by Erika T. Wurth
Kari James, Urban Native, loves heavy metal music, Stephen King, and dive bars. Escaping her past and the mother who left her when she was just two years old, Karin spends most of her time at a bar in Denver called White Horse. When her cousin Debby brings Kari a traditional bracelet that belonged to her mother, Kari begins to have disturbing visions. Determined to get to the bottom of these visions, Kari sets out to find out what really happened to her mother all of those years ago.
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Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina
Anna Horn looks over her shoulder constantly. From bullies to visitors at the reservation’s casino to a disembodied entity that is tribal myth Anna swears is intent on destroying her. When girls on the reservation begin to go missing and the tribe is desperate for answers, Anna is determined to put the pieces together. When Anna’s own younger sister disappears, she swears she will do whatever it takes to bring Grace home.
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Redemption by Deborah J. Ledford
Deputy Eva “Lightning Dance” Duran is investigating the disappearances of four women from the Taos Pueblo reservation, including her best friend, Paloma. Eva is frustrated with the departments lack of interested in the disappearances of these women, so she enlists the help of Cruz “Wolf Song” Romero, a tribal police officer, to help her with her investigation. When women begin to turn up dead, Eva finds herself torn as she battles between the loyalty to her friend, her tribe, and herself.
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On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel
Tiffany McDaniel is an Indigenous author who based her latest novel, On the Savage Side on the case of the Chillicothe Six. Arcade and Daffodil are twins who are inseparable and often in a world of their own, even though they live in rural Ohio. As an adult, Arcade battles demons from her past when a local woman is found drowned in a river, but she’s not alone. As more women are found, Arcade must confront her past as a killer looms around the small town.
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Highlighting thrillers and horror novels by Indigenous authors is such a powerful way to celebrate diverse voices! These stories often weave in rich cultural perspectives that enhance the genre in unique ways. I’m excited to explore these recommendations and discover new authors who bring fresh narratives to the table. It’s a great reminder of the importance of representation in literature!