Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina
Length: 352 Pages
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
I'd like to give a very special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with an ARC of this book!
Trigger Warnings in this book for Death, Murder, Sexual Assault, Bullying in Regards to the MC's Two-Spirit Identity, Drug Use And Discussion of the Many Abuses Native Women Face
Anna Horn is an outcast--bullied relentlessly at school and pushed to the side by her younger sister in fear of Anna's own status rubbing off on her. Her only comfort comes from visiting the long abandoned trailer of Miss Shelby, a woman who tried to keep the tribe's stories alive be recounting them to anyone who would listen. She went missing years ago without a trace--or was eaten by the unhappy, travelling head of a dead chief, according to Anna's uncle. Miss Shelby was the only one who saw Anna for who she really was, not just a girl, but as someone who was two-spirit, "neither one or the other".
After Anna takes a job cleaning hotel rooms at the large casino on the reservation, and catches the eye of Fox Ballard for her quick work on the rooms and the lack of gossiping she does with the other maids, she encourages her sister, Grace, to get a job, too. Soon, Anna is chosen to clean rooms on the mysterious eighth floor, where all the best suites are. But something isn't right with that floor, and Anna knows it. She catches one of the maids, another Native girl, dazed and stumbling down the stairway, and another woman running crying from one of the suites. And Fox makes sure she never sees who goes in them, or who leaves.
When Grace starts sneaking out at night and eventually goes missing like so many other girls on the rez, Anna is sure it all comes down to Fox and the casino.
This is one powerful debut novel, weaving together folklore and horror and mystery masterfully. The characters are all wonderfully human and imperfect, with Anna being the clear standout. I only refrain from giving this five stars because there was so much left unanswered, which usually isn't a bother for me normally, but here I would have loved some of the loose ends tied up. Also, the author perfectly encompassed the relationship between sisters, especially of a younger age. It is so complicated, a mixture of love, hate and jealousy which is hard for most people to get just right!
This is a story dedicated to the epidemic of missing, murdered and abused Indigenous women, as said in the powerful afterward. The ending, despite its ambiguity, left me with chills. Overall, I'm really impressed with Medina's work, and I eagerly look forward to what he'll publish next!
