Indian Killer

A New York Times Notable Book and a national best seller, Indian Killer is arguably Sherman Alexie’s most controversial book to date–a riveting, gritty, racially charged literary thriller that, over a decade after its first publication, remains an electrifying tale of alienation and justice. A serial murderer called the Indian Killer is terrorizing Seattle, hunting and scalping white men and adorning their bodies with owl feathers. Motivated by rage and seeking retribution for his people’s violent history, his grizzly MO and skillful elusiveness both paralyze the city with fear and prompt an uprising of racial brutality. Out of the chaos emerges John Smith. Born to Indians but raised by white parents, Smith yearns for his lost heritage. As his embitterment with his dual life increases, Smith falls deeper into vengeful madness and quickly surfaces as the prime suspect. Smith struggles to find a connection to his past while seeking comfort in Marie, a student activist and Indian who is estranged from her tribe. But their bond is not enough. As tensions mount, Smith desperately battles to allay the anger that engulfs him, and the Indian Killer claims another life. With acerbic wit and chilling page-turning intensity, Alexie takes an unflinching look at what nurtures rage within a race both colonized and marginalized by a society that neither values nor understands it.