White Horse

It was this time last year when Erika T. Wurth’s debut novel, White Horse, was released. I got a hardcover of it through Book of the Month, but this month, I decided to finally read it as an audiobook. In part, I always try to celebrate Native American Heritage Month with at least one book by and about Indigenous people. However, this is also the time of year when I tend to be more drawn to horror stories. Thus, White Horse was the perfect pick!

Summary

Kari James is an Indigenous woman from a fractured family. Her mother left when Kari was only two days old, devastating her father and leaving him unable to care for himself after a car crash. Now in her 30s, Kari still retains bitterness towards the mom she never knew, but after overcoming other hardships along the way, she has a new career goal almost within reach: to own the White Horse bar that she frequents. But when her friend gives her a bracelet that once belonged to Kari’s mom, Kari starts having strange and terrifying visions of her mother and a beastly creature. Is there more to what happened to her mom all those years ago? How can Kari unlock the truth of her family’s past and finally overcome the tragedy that has followed her into adulthood?

Review

There is a lot that first captured my interest in White Horse, from the heavy metal and horror novel loving main character to the ghosts haunting her, trying to reveal the past her family has kept a secret her whole life. Kari is in her 30s, with more than her fair share of baggage: the mother who abandoned her, the best friend who left tragically, the addictions that plagued her in her younger years. But Kari is getting her life back on track, starting with her intention to buy the White Horse bar. She’s trying to keep her friendship with Debby going, but Debby’s overbearing husband is always driving a wedge between them. Kari has few other relationships, often taking care of her father and otherwise reading Stephen King novels and listening to Megadeth and other metal bands.

When Kari starts seeing visions of her late mother and a monstrous creature, somehow linked to a bracelet her mother once owned, Kari embarks on a mission to find out what really happened all those years ago. Her father can’t speak, due to a car accident he was in shortly after her mom left. She has no other family she can turn to. The police are little help, having written Kari’s mother off as a runaway. But the truths Kari thought she knew about her mother seem to become more obviously false the further she investigates.

White Horse takes its time in unfolding, offering up a whole world of Kari’s past, her mother’s secret past, and the fraught present day. Kari’s had more than her fair share of tragedies, all stemming from lies and secrets within her family. Her current relationships are similarly strained, leaving Kari largely alone in solving this mystery as the visions become more frequent and more disturbing.

I appreciate the nuance in Kari’s character, from her tough girl persona to the sensitive side still haunted by events in her past. I also love that she’s a heavy metal fan and horror fan. There are far too many female characters who only like Taylor Swift; give me more girls who like rock and metal and horror! Kari frequently mentions Megadeth and Dave Mustaine, as well as Stephen King and The Shining. She even takes a trip to the actual Colorado hotel which inspired that iconic novel and served as the filming location for the film adaptation. All the places she goes and tidbits she unearths contribute either to the truth behind her visions or her character development.

Family and friendship are ultimately vitally important to the arc within White Horse. Much of it is about fighting for Indigenous peoples’ rights, mental illness, and taking a stand against abuse. The book moves quickly, with short chapters propelling the story forward, but takes its time in letting the characters breathe and come to life.

Final Thoughts

White Horse is an engrossing and thoughtful novel about family, Indigenous communities, and finding your place as an adult. It has vivid supernatural elements, and while it’s not super scary, it is a satisfying work of horror. I’m excited to read more from Erika T. Wurth in the future.

Get the Book

You can buy White Horse here – it’s available as a hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

White Horse by Erika T. Wurth
Audiobook Narrator	Tonantzin Carmelo
Audience	Adult
Genre	Horror
Setting	Colorado; Idaho
Book Length	320 pages; 9.5 hours
Format I Read	Audiobook
Original Publication Date	November 1, 2022
Publisher	Flatiron Books

Official Summary

“This ghost story is a perfect example of new wave horror that will also satisfy fans of classic Stephen King.” —Silvia Moreno-Garcia, author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic

Erika T. Wurth’s White Horse is a gritty, vibrant debut novel about an Indigenous woman who must face her past when she discovers a bracelet haunted by her mother’s spirit.

Some people are haunted in more ways than one…

Kari James, Urban Native, is a fan of heavy metal, ripped jeans, Stephen King novels, and dive bars. She spends most of her time at her favorite spot in Denver, a bar called White Horse. There, she tries her best to ignore her past and the questions surrounding her mother who abandoned her when she was just two days old.

But soon after her cousin Debby brings her a traditional bracelet that once belonged to Kari’s mother, Kari starts seeing disturbing visions of her mother and a mysterious creature. When the visions refuse to go away, Kari must uncover what really happened to her mother all those years ago. Her father, permanently disabled from a car crash, can’t help her. Her Auntie Squeaker seems to know something but isn’t eager to give it all up at once. Debby’s anxious to help, but her controlling husband keeps getting in the way.

Kari’s journey toward a truth long denied by both her family and law enforcement forces her to confront her dysfunctional relationships, thoughts about a friend she lost in childhood, and her desire for the one thing she’s always wanted but could never have…