The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Available July 14, 2020

Content warnings for graphic violence, The Dog Dies, and loads of gore.

Thanks for the nightmares Stephen Graham Jones. Thanks. 

When four high school friends break the rules and hunt on elder ground, they do more than go against tribal law. Their killing of a pregnant elk and her unborn calf releases a spirit bent on revenge. Over the course of the next ten years, her spirit will seek to exact revenge on the men and their families.

Absolutely chilling and terrifying, The Only Good Indians is a haunting look at how nature always gets her revenge. What seems like a simple story-boys commit a crime and now must pay the price-is actually filled with great depth. The four friends go their separate ways and have their own struggles. None of those struggles excuse their behavior and not all of their actions are redeemable, but over time they seemed to realize that what they did that night was incredibly wrong and they never should have killed the elk the way they did. Jones crafted characters that felt incredibly real with their struggles with relationships, alcohol, money and regrets over not keeping up with old traditions. 

All four friends will be terrorized by the dark entity and their deaths are not a spoiler, as Ricky is taken out in the first few pages. Ricky dies in a bar fight knowing the headline will read, “indian man killed in dispute outside bar.” But of course, it’s more than a bar fight but no one will ever know but him. Lewis goes on to marry a white woman, get a stable job with the postal service, and lead a mostly content life. But when a new woman begins working with him, he believes that she knows more about that night from ten years ago than she lets on. When Gabe and Cass get together to hold a sweat lodge ceremony in remembrance of Lewis, they, along with the sheriff’s son find themselves, nothing that night goes as planned. If I just used all the wrong words in “sweat lodge ceremony” I’m so sorry. Our hero of the story is a bit of surprise and I was all for it.

Intensely graphic, The Only Good Indians is not for the faint of heart. There are some vivid descriptions of animal and human death as well as harm to children. That said, it’s necessary to the overwhelming sense of dread and danger felt throughout the novel. I flew through this in one sitting because I was so scared if I stopped reading, I would just pick up at an even scarier or more gruesome part.

A very solid and terrifying horror story and I highly recommend it.

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Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own. This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.