In a promise to his partner, Marie, who is running for a position on the tribal council, Virgil Wounded Horse has been working on putting his past behind him. No more work as a hired vigilante on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. No more smoking. No more drinking. Not everyone has been happy with his decision to stop dispensing justice, but Virgil has persevered... until a beloved member of the community is murdered.
Forced to return to the job, Virgil finds that the victim was threatened by a street gang from a neighboring reservation, and a shady politician who will stop at nothing to gain more power may have something to do with the murder, too.
With the stakes growing higher by the day, Virgil needs to find the killer as quickly as possible because the lives of those he loves are at stake.
~
Back in 2021, I highly recommended Weiden's first Virgil Wounded Horse mystery, Winter Counts, and I'm happy to say that his second, Wisdom Corner, is every bit as good.
The author puts readers right in the heart of the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservations. He weaves fascinating bits of Native American history into his story, like the Carlyle Indian School football team, and shows us all how Indian boarding schools and the proven inequality of the American criminal justice system have made their marks on Native lives. Native American culture and delicious food are also part of this rich tapestry.
But any fictional tapestry is incomplete without an engaging cast of characters, and Wisdom Corner has that, too. Virgil's struggle to have a more acceptable lifestyle is real, and his partner, Marie, does everything she can to help him. Marie's fight for a seat on the tribal council is only one of the ways she shows how much she cares for the people on the reservation. Virgil's nephew, Nathan, is a high schooler trying to have a meaningful life on the reservation-- which is extremely difficult to do for any young person there. I think my favorite new character was Rose Charging Cloud, the chief of police for the Rosebud Sioux tribe. Being Black, Native, and female, she's had a tough road to her job. At first, I didn't like her, but she certainly grew on me.
Once again, as in Winter Counts, the bad guy was very easy for me to spot, but there was some excellent misdirection steering readers toward other suspects. If you enjoy learning about other cultures in a propulsive mystery populated with vivid characters, I highly recommend Wisdom Corner, but I will say that you should really read Winter Counts first. (Why settle for one great read when you can have two?)
Wisdom Corner by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
eISBN: 9780062969002
Ecco Books © 2026
eBook, 320 pages
Native American Mystery, #2 Virgil Wounded Horse
Rating: A
Source: Net Galley
OK, Cathy, my ears are pricked and I am interested in this series. I really do enjoy learning about Native history and how it affects today's Natives. Not to mention, the Carlisle Indian School isn't very, very far from where I grew up. So that's a connection. I can see why you liked this, and I think I may have to put this series on the wish list.
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