Reviews

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

Only show reviews with written explanations

courtharman's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

kastnc's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I love a good vigilante story! I would not really consider this a mystery/thriller though, although there was a decent amount of action at the end. I enjoyed reading about Lakota customs and beliefs, but it wasn’t a super gripping story.

readingwithhippos's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I absolutely loved this book! I often crowd my reading list with mysteries and thrillers in the fall, and while they never fail to get me in the spirit of the season, they are rarely 5-star reads for me. I’m primarily a romance reader, and it’s hard to get the emotional payoff I crave from a genre that doesn’t promise a happy ending. However, Winter Counts is just so good, and I hope it’s the beginning of a long-running series because I would read many more books about Virgil Wounded Horse.

Virgil is the source of vigilante justice on his reservation, a role made necessary by the fact that tribal police have to hand felony cases off to the feds, and the feds decline to prosecute all but the highest-profile, most violent crimes. His latest job is to identify who’s bringing heroin onto the reservation and stop the trafficking, but the case becomes personal when he finds out his nephew is somehow involved.

Virgil is a great character, jaded and cranky but still good-hearted underneath. The tension as he follows one lead to the next is thick--I was so afraid for him, so sure he was being manipulated at every turn, I kept mentally screaming at him to get out, save himself. But Virgil’s not the kind of guy to flee in the face of danger, especially if there are vulnerable people who need protection.

_shonahenderson's review

Go to review page

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

ally_bur's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Good story and insight into life on the reservation. I didn't love the writing though.

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

while it was pretty predictable, this was a good book and was actually thrilling, which i can’t always say for other thrillers. the last 50ish pages were so so good!

Content Warnings