Book Review: Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Berkley (April 16, 2024)
Length: 384 pages
Author Information: Website
Indian Burial Ground is my first book by Nick Medina, but the world of horror fiction is no stranger to his works inspired by Native American history and steeped in folklore and mythology. After hearing amazing things about his debut novel Sisters of the Lost Nation, I just couldn’t pass up the chance to check this one out.
The story unfolds across two distinct timelines. In the present, Noemi Broussard is well on her way to a fresh start with a plan to move away from the reservation where she grew up, following in the footsteps of her uncle Louie who left years before. But just as everything seems to be working out, Noemi is hit with devastating news. Her boyfriend Roddy, with whom she was deeply in love, had apparently committed suicide. But it just didn’t make sense. They had been looking forward to spending their lives together, and Roddy was happy. Wasn’t he? Grief stricken, Noemi is convinced there is more to his death and returns to tribal lands to seek the truth.
After many years away, her uncle Louie has also returned to the reservation, but his reasons for coming back are rooted in the secrets of his past, which are revealed in the second timeline that takes place in the eighties. This thread follows Louie as an adolescent whose mother is struggling with alcoholism and whose aunt is a busy teen mom with a young daughter named Noemi, leaving him to take care of the little girl most days. From his experiences, we learn that sinister and unexplainable events have long been happening to the tribe, eventually resulting in an unsettled Louie leaving the reservation.
Dual timelines can be tricky, but in the right hands, a book employing this technique can be very powerful. In fact, I was initially skeptical that Indian Burial Ground could pull it off, with Noemi and Louie’s storylines tripping all over each other’s feet like awkward dance partners. Roddy’s suicide was an effective and immediate hook, and it was hard not to resent being thrown back into Louie’s past when I was much more interested in Noemi’s investigation in the present. Still, I was glad I stuck it out, because ultimately, it is Louie’s POV that impressed me and truly engaged.
Louie is a man haunted, not only by malignant forces targeting his tribe but also by those tearing his family apart—substance abuse, addiction, poverty—leaving him to hold everything together. Through the teenage Louie’s eyes, the author weaves the indigenous experience into the fabric of this story as his character grapples with demons both internal and external. Meanwhile, Noemi’s tale of heartbreak in the present day is no less poignant, for while her search for answers into Roddy’s death is lighter on the horror and urgency, reading more like a mystery, it still resonates. Through her POV, readers also get to witness the bond between uncle and niece, one forged through loss and hardship but also a shared determination to seek answers and solace.
I found too that I enjoyed Medina’s writing. Although I was mildly put off by the slow and uneven pacing at the start, the more I thought about it, the more this slow-burn approach made sense. Indian Burial Ground is about the characters—Noemi and Louie—and without taking the time explore each of them in depth, this novel would have quickly become overwhelming and disorienting. Despite a few hiccups from the complex narrative structure, in the end Medina managed to achieve a delicate balance in his exploration of the eternal struggle between good and evil.
Expect no easy answers. Indian Burial Ground is a haunting and unsettling work of horror that defies easy categorization, yet its magnetic quality is sure to draw readers into its depths to keep you turning the pages.
The BiblioSanctum 
I don’t know, a slow burn AND dual time lines? That’s an awful lot for one author to juggle.
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It was definitely different. Usually those two conditions would mean a disastrous read for me but somehow it worked…
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I’m a fan of dual timeline stories and what’s more the setting for this book sounds more than intriguing: both these elements will certainly be enough to help me with the slow-burn beginning…
Thanks for sharing 🙂
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Yes, I’m glad I stuck it out because the two timelines quickly came together!
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I need to go back and try this again. I got hung up with Louie’s chapters, which I wasn’t interested in, and the writing style overall wasn’t working for me. But a 4 star rating from you is a good sign!
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Yeah I can see where you would get hung up, I did not care for Louie’s chapters either at first! His neice’s chapters were so much more interesting!
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Unsettling. Eeek. I am a scarredy cat it seems
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Yeah, this was a creepy book but in a subtle way!
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This sounds quite intriguing!
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I was surprised how much I enjoyed it!
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This sounds really good. Glad to hear that he pulled off the dual timelines, completely agree that can be super tricky to pull off well.
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Yeah, I’m normally frustrated with books that feature multiple timelines, unless they are done well. Medina really pulled it off here!
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Sounds interesting. My interest is piqued.
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I’m so glad to put this on your radar!
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Great review, Mogsy. A duel narrative is always tricky to pull off as it’s difficult to ensure one storyline isn’t more gripping than the other. It sounds as if you persevered so that the initial hook was balanced out by the deeper, more nuanced narrative. But it does sound a very bleak read…
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The pacing was iffy at the beginning but like you said balanced out as we got further. So glad I stuck it out!
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Both of his books caught my eye as stories I’d like to try so I’m happy to see you ended up enjoying this one, even if it did have a couple quirks to get through. Hopefully I’ll get around to trying his work.
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I really must go back to check out his previous book!
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I really like the sound of this one and I am a bit of a sucker for dual timelines.
Lynn 😀
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Oh I’m glad! They don’t always work for me!
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