I received a gifted galley of SISTERS OF THE LOST NATION by Nick Medina for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing and PRH Audio for the opportunity!
Rating: 4 / 5
Publication Date: 4/18/2023
SISTERS OF THE LOST NATION follows Anna Horn, a young Native girl dealing with the disappearance of her sister. Women disappearing from her tribe’s reservation is sadly nothing new, but when it is her sister who is gone and the police cannot be trusted to find her, Anna must step up. The tribe is plagued by demons, both those from mythology and those from the real world.
I went into this book not knowing much about it, but I was very intrigued by the promised mix of horror and mystery. Anna is a very compelling character to read about and she goes through a lot. She has had to live her life always a bit on edge from being bullied and dealing with visitors to the reservation’s casino who come in with high demands. Seeing creatures that don’t seem like they could be real are just one step to far for her and she really needs answers.
I think the author does a good job of talking about a real life issue, the high numbers of indigenous women who go missing and the lack of resources that tribes have to find these missing women. This is all done through the very real feeling disappearance of Anna’s sister Grace. He talks in his author’s note about this process which I really enjoyed hearing. He also addresses the fact that this isn’t focused on one real tribe, but a fictitious one that combines many common lores and practices since this very real horror of missing girls is common across different tribes.
I would personally classify this more as mystery with some horror elements than outright horror, but I really enjoyed how those elements were woven into the story.
SISTERS OF THE LOST NATION is out today! I will definitely look to read more from Nick Medina in the future!
DG Reads 