Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina #bookreview #horror #fantasy #mythology #thriller #mystery

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**

Title: Sisters of the Lost Nation

Author:  Nick Medina

Publisher: Berkley

Publication Date: April 18, 2023

Page Count:  348

My rating: 2 1/2 stars

About the book:

A young Native girl’s hunt for answers about the women mysteriously disappearing from her tribe’s reservation leads her to delve into the myths and stories of her people, all while being haunted herself, in this atmospheric and stunningly poignant debut.

Anna Horn is always looking over her shoulder. For the bullies who torment her, for the entitled visitors at the reservation’s casino…and for the nameless, disembodied entity that stalks her every step—an ancient tribal myth come-to-life, one that’s intent on devouring her whole.
 
With strange and sinister happenings occurring around the casino, Anna starts to suspect that not all the horrors on the reservation are old. As girls begin to go missing and the tribe scrambles to find answers, Anna struggles with her place on the rez, desperately searching for the key she’s sure lies in the legends of her tribe’s past.  

When Anna’s own little sister also disappears, she’ll do anything to bring Grace home. But the demons plaguing the reservation—both ancient and new—are strong, and sometimes, it’s the stories that never get told that are the most important.

Part gripping thriller and part mythological horror, author Nick Medina spins an incisive and timely novel of life as an outcast, the cost of forgetting tradition, and the courage it takes to become who you were always meant to be.

Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina is a novel that seemed to try to delve into as many genres as possible with a bit of mystery, thriller, horror, folklore, mythology, family drama, coming of age and probably a few elements I’m missing off the top of my head. The story in Sisters of the Lost Nation is also one that is told by alternating back and forth between two timelines and while it is set on a fictional reservation in Louisiana it does deal with real indigenous legends and folklore.

Seventeen year old Anna Horn is a member of the Lakota Tribe and like many members of the tribe Anna works at the casino run by the tribe. Bullied at school for her culture Anna has always wanted to learn more and more of their traditions and legends but has also felt she is haunted by one herself. When other young tribe members begin to go missing, including Anna’s own little sister, Anna thinks somehow those legends of the past may help figure out what is going on.

Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina really seemed to be on paper a book that I should have absolutely fell in love with. Unfortunately I really had a hard time getting too engaged with this one while I was reading. The pacing did seem rather slow at times which is sometimes a huge turn off to me but it also had a weird back and forth between times with it only covering a little over a month that sometimes threw me off. Others have absolutely loved this one so while it wasn’t my cup of tea I encourage to give it a try for yourself if interested.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon

About the author:

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Nick Medina appreciates blues-based music, local folklore, and snowy winters. He has degrees in organizational and multicultural communication, and has worked as a college instructor. He enjoys playing guitar, listening to classic rock, exploring haunted cemeteries, and all sorts of spooky stuff. Connect with him on nickmedina.net, Instagram (@nickmedinawrites), and Twitter (@MedinaNick).