Here’s the Goodreads summary:

Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

This book was published by Gallery / Saga Press in July 2020, and I’ve wanted to read it for a long time. I can’t believe I didn’t pick it up sooner. It’s full of gorgeous quotes that showcase Jones’s evocative style, such as this one:

“An elk mother, cornered, will slash with her hooves and tear with her mouth and even offer the hope of her own hamstrings, and if none of that works, she’ll rise again years and years later, because it’s never over, it’s always just beginning again.”⁠
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I had to wait a million years for my library hold of The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones to come in (we’re talking three months), but it was well worth the wait. This is one of my favorite reads of this year so far.⁠
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In The Only Good Indians, a supernatural entity seeks vengeance on a group of men who killed her calf several decades prior. The entity takes the form of a mysterious Elk-Head Woman, and throughout the book, she systematically hunts down and torments the men who caused her pain in the past.⁠
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There is a LOT of gore in this book, but I loved it. Jones masterfully interweaves Native American folklore with a pervasive sense of dread and creeping atmosphere that holds you tight and never lets you go. Trigger warnings for scalping (the grossest, most vivid scene in the book for me), animal death, and desecration of corpses.⁠
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More than anything, this book showcases Jones’s immersive storytelling and impeccable prose. The Only Good Indians makes for a haunting, uncomfortable read that’s a perfect fit for spooky season, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, even the parts that grossed me out. Okay, maybe especially those parts.⁠ I’m also waiting for his most recent book, My Heart Is a Chainsaw, to come through via library loan. After I finish that one, I’m hoping to cover it, too.

You can purchase The Only Good Indians on Amazon or through your independent bookstore of choice. In addition, you can follow Stephen Graham Jones on Twitter.

What did you think of this book, and what book should I review next?

My own book, an adult vampire novella called Mouth Full of Ashes, was released on October 4. You can order it here! Thanks so much for your support.