David Heska Wanbli Weiden

Wednesday, September 30 at 7PM

Hosted by Ramsey County Library

Virtual Event

David Heska Wanbli Weiden is an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota nation and a leading Indigenous voice in the crime fiction and thriller genres. In his chart-topping debut Winter Counts (2020), Weiden introduces Virgil Wounded Horse, a vigilante enforcer on a South Dakota reservation who steps up to root out a drug ring after formal legal systems fail his community. Winter Counts practically swept the mystery genre’s literary honors, winning an Anthony Award, Lefty Award, ITW Thriller Award, Barry Award, and Macavity Award. Weiden’s highly anticipated follow up, Wisdom Corner (2026), revisits the intertwined themes of justice, identity, and survival in Native communities. In his sophomore outing, a conflicted Virgil is pulled back to the Rosebud Reservation to thwart a street gang from another tribal nation – and local politicians out only for themselves. Fellow mystery heavyweight William Kent Krueger praised: “Generational trauma, the spiderweb of legal jurisdictions, the insidious legacy of prejudice, all play a role in this riveting thriller that will surprise you to the very end.”