Mysteries and Thrillers by Indigenous Authors

As a Cherokee archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Syd Walker spends her days in Rhode Island trying to protect the land’s Indigenous past, even as she’s escaping from her own. When a skull is found near a crime scene in her Oklahoma hometown at the same time her sister, Emma Lou, vanishes, Syd knows she needs to return home. But not everyone is glad to see Syd home, and she can feel the crosshairs on her. As Syd digs deeper into the mystery she uncovers a string of missing Indigenous women cases going back decades. To save her sister, she must expose a darkness in the town that no one wants to face – not even Syd.

A man lunges in front of a car. An elderly woman silently drowns herself. A corpse sits up in its coffin and speaks. On this reservation, not all is what it seems. Noemi Broussard just wants a fresh start. With a new boyfriend, Roddy, and a plan to move from the reservation she grew up on, it looks like she’ll get exactly that. Until her Roddy’s apparent suicide. But the details about Roddy’s death just don’t make sense, and Noemi isn’t the only one who thinks so. After over a decade away, her Uncle Louie has returned to the reservation, bringing with him a past full of secrets, horror, and what might be the key to determining Roddy’s true cause of death. Noemi and Louie work together to find answers, but the closer they get the more Noemi begins to wonder if some secrets should stay buried.

Many Indigenous cultures warn against whistling at night, believing it summons malevolent spirits like the Hukai’po or Lechuza. These chilling tales explore ghosts, curses, and monstrous creatures, reflecting Indigenous peoples’ rich traditions and fears. Introduced by bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones, this collection celebrates Indigenous survival and creativity through stories of hauntings, family legacies, and the eerie consequences of a simple whistle. Featuring stories by Norris Black, Amber Blaeser-Wardzala, Phoenix Boudreau, and more.

When Mackenzie wakes with a severed crow’s head in her hands, she panics. Previously, she had been fighting off birds in a snowy forest, but the head vanishes when she blinks. Each night, her dreams return to a guilt-laden weekend at the family’s lakefront campsite before her sister Sabrina’s death. As ominous crows stalk her in the city and threatening texts from Sabrina’s number arrive, Mackenzie returns to her grief-stricken rural hometown in Alberta. Her reunion with her family only heightens her nightmarish experiences. As she unravels the connection between that night and Sabrina’s death, she wonders if the danger was inside her all along.

When 17-year-old Jimmy Hill vanishes at sea, his sister Lisamarie, a troubled teenager with a dark secret, embarks on a solo search. Through the Douglas Channel, she travels to Monkey Beach, known for sasquatch sightings. A captivating blend of teen angst, Haisla lore, nature spirits, and human emotions, set against the mystical backdrop of B.C.’s Coast Mountains, this story weaves together darkness and humor in a journey of loss and redemption.

Since her death, Beth Teller’s life has been a spectral limbo. Her grieving father is the only one who can see and hear her. Together, they tackle a new mystery in a remote Australian town that will hopefully remind Beth’s father that he needs to reconnect to the living. A suspicious fire has left an unidentifiable body and an unreliable witness who speaks in riddles. As Beth and her father delve into the case, they uncover a haunting, heartbreaking story revealing dark secrets beneath the town’s surface.

Quill has always lived on the Red Pine reservation in Minnesota, haunted by the memory of running for help when Jimmy Sky jumped off the railway bridge. Now training for the Boston Marathon, she hears a scream in the woods but finds only tire tracks and a beaded earring. With supportive friends and family, Quill is determined to investigate the recent disappearance of a woman, focusing on men working nearby. As she uncovers unsettling truths, more people vanish, forcing her to confront harsh realities and the trauma of being overlooked. Her quest for justice highlights the deep impact of crime and societal indifference.

In the small Ojibwe town of Geshig on the Languille Lake reservation, Marion Lafournier, a gay Ojibwe man, begins a secret romance with Shannon, a closeted white man. Amidst the challenges of their hidden relationship, Marion accidentally awakens the spirit of a dog while exploring dark streets. The spirit guides him to the grave of Kayden Kelliher, a murdered Ojibwe basketball star. Marion’s quest to uncover the truth behind Kayden’s death reveals deep family ties and an old Ojibwe legend that may solve the mystery.

Mae hasn’t been called Mud since she left her tribe. In Silicon Valley, she is known as Mae, a high-powered professional who abandoned her Kiowa roots. When she receives a cryptic message from her grandfather James Sawpole she returns home to her ancestral lands in what is now known as Oklahoma. There, she finds her tribe in turmoil — fracking damaging their lands, families selling artifacts, and threats against her grandfather over water rights. When he goes missing and is accused of stealing a valuable medal, Mud must unravel a web of theft, betrayal, and murder. As she investigates, she embarks on a vision quest fraught with deceit, greed, and danger.