White Horse by Erika T. Wurth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**A NOVEMBER 2022 BOOK OF THE MONTH SELECTION**
Kari James has a bit of a dark past. There’s her missing mother, her father, who suffered a brain injury in an accident and is unable to care for himself, as well as a best friend lost to their lifestyle choices.
Now in her 30s, living back in her hometown of Denver, Colorado, Kari works, takes care of her Dad and in her downtime, enjoys reading, or having a few beers at the White Horse, her favorite local watering hole.
Kari’s cousin, Debby, is her closest friend. The person she can count on the most. The two spend quite a bit of time together, but would probably be together even more if it wasn’t for Debby’s overbearing husband.
One night while Kari is drinking at the White Horse, Debby arrives. As they chat, Debby presents her with a bracelet that she found while doing some cleaning. It used to belong to Kari’s Mom.
As soon as Kari lays hands on the antique, traditionally-engraved bracelet, she feels a unique energy course through her. This is something powerful.
Kari begins being plagued by dreams and visions, of her mother, of her past, of something dark and dangerous lurking just outside her vision. She’s haunted.
Kari, not unlike myself, has always been a fan of just keeping the past buried. Some events are too painful to dwell upon; they’re best dealt with if they’re not.
Kari had always been told her mother left them. Now she’s not as sure that was the case. She begins to dig. She feels compelled to finally find the truth. Is her mother still alive, is she dead?
Kari’s also sort of forced to deal with her own past, life choices and the loss of her best friend, Jamie. Kari needs to overcome her own guilt, in addition to her grief, in order to move forward with her life.
White Horse is a beautifully-told story. I loved the dark and gritty tone of it all. I could picture everything Kari was experiencing, but it was like watching a Horror movie where the setting is always kind of dark. Where you feel like you are squinting because you’re trying so hard not to miss what’s happening.
I also really enjoyed the themes explored. It was layered, emotional, powerful, and the Indigenous lore and concepts involved in the story were fantastic.
There’s quite a bit of mystery surrounding Kari’s family and early-life. I liked how Wurth gradually revealed the truth. It was done slowly, but in a way that kept me interested from the very start.
The pace and tension continues to build as you learn more. By the end, I was so freaking invested. I had to know the truth!
There were some things that I wasn’t crazy about, but not many. For example, Debby’s husband’s presence occasionally kicked me out of the story, he was so terrible.
Also, some aspects did become a little muddled for me personally, particularly surrounding the focus on The Shining. I think I get it, but I’m not a hundred on it. I may need to read it again to clear up some things.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this story; investigating the long-held family secrets within this one Urban Indigenous family. I listened to the audiobook and would definitely recommend that format. It was well-done and just a great story to sit and listen to.
The texture of the grief, the guilt, I felt it. I connected with Kari. Wurth did a great job developing her character. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am going to remember this one for a long time.