Wisdom Corner: A Novel

by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

From the award-winning author of Winter Counts comes a new thriller about life—and death—on the Rosebud Indian Reservation.

Virgil Wounded Horse is desperately trying to escape his past as a hired vigilante on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. But when a legendary figure from the reservation is murdered, he’s forced to return to the job. Making matters more complicated, threats are coming from the Pine Ridge 705—a street gang from a neighboring reservation who want to expand their reach into Rosebud—and Mitch Gagnon, a shady politician who will stop at nothing to gain more power.

With a heated tribal council election looming, as well as new revelations regarding past injustices at the local Native boarding school, the stakes grow even higher. Will Virgil find the justice he’s seeking before it’s too late?

David Heska Wanbli Weiden, whose writing “melds the gritty realism of Dashiell Hammett with the lyricism of Tommy Orange” (O, The Oprah Magazine), once again brings us a tour de force of crime fiction—and an expansive look at Native American life in a shifting world.

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Indigenous, Native American, Fiction

Kindle Edition

Expected publication July 7, 2026

About the author

David Heska Wanbli Weiden, an enrolled member of the Sicangu Lakota nation, is the author of Wisdom Corner (Ecco, 2026). His first novel Winter Counts (Ecco, 2020), was nominated for an Edgar Award and was the winner of the Anthony, Thriller, Lefty, Barry, Macavity, Spur, High Plains, Tillie Olsen, CrimeFest (UK), and Crime Fiction Lover (UK) Awards. The novel was a New York Times Editors’ Choice, an Indie Next pick, main selection of the Book of the Month Club, and named a Best Book of the year by NPR, Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, The Guardian, and other magazines. The novel is included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 best mystery and thriller novels of all time. He received the PEN America Writing for Justice Fellowship and is the recipient of fellowships and residencies from MacDowell, Ucross, Sewanee, and Tin House. A professor of English and Native American & Indigenous Studies at Stony Brook University, he lives in New York and Colorado with his family.

Reviews

[Lila]

I'm glad we'll be seeing Virgil again.

[Kelly]

I can't wait!!!

[Leah]

I can't wait!

[Kerry Pickens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a follow-up to the author’s book Winter Counts which one a bunch of awards. I have been waiting for this book to get published so I was very happy when I received an ARC. As in Winter Counts, a central issue of Wisdom Corner is the problem of fair and efficient criminal justice administration on Native American reservations. The main character has been serving as a vigilante on the reservation but with the second book he is reflecting on whether this is the right path for him and his family. The books are well written, unique and an interesting insight into Native American culture.