For me, the spirit that hunted the men was merciless and bone chillingly terrifying.

While the supernatural elements were unusual, some might say farfetched, I bought into them one hundred percent. It was skilfully written – prolonged descriptions of the characters normal lives and backstories were so heavy with suspense that I couldn’t read quick enough for fear of what was going to happen next. It was laden with tension interspersed with abrupt and shocking episodes of bloody violence that you always knew was coming but could never quite predict where and when and to whom. The book effectively combines classic horror and suspense with an astute social commentary. 10 years later they are being stalked by the spirit of one of the animals they killed. The Only Good Indians tells the story of four young American Indian men who massacre a herd of elk. The title is a tragically ironic reference to Theodore Roosevelt’s vile quote “the only good Indians are dead Indians”, and the book is heavy with the prejudice, discrimination, and disadvantage that people of American Indian heritage struggle with on a daily basis in the present-day United States. I’m not sure I agree with that, but it was certainly a dark, disturbing read that I really enjoyed. I bought this book on the basis of reviews that described it as a “masterpiece”.

The only good indians book review