An atmospheric and thrilling debut from writer Nick Medina

A Louisiana reservation is ravaged by terror in Nick Medina’s debut thriller, Sisters of the Lost Nation.

In this contemporary horror story, Anna, a high school senior living on the Takoda reservation, is being haunted by the ancient myths of her tribe as several disappearances of young women are linked to the reservation’s new casino.

The Chicago man wrote stories most of his life, but kept them to himself until after college. He then started submitting his stories to small fiction outlets for publication before turning his focus to a longer work.

For Sisters of the Lost Nation, Medina drew from his love of the horror and thriller genres, along with Native legends. He credits growing up in Chicago with its rich history of ghost stories and folklore.

Medina also wanted to highlight in his novel the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, as several young women go missing in the novel, including Grace, the sister of Anna, the main character.

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He noted while the story is a thriller with horror elements, he worked hard to make sure the murdered and missing in the novel were treated seriously and with sensitivity.

In the story, Anna and her family are devasted by Grace's disappearance and the family eventually starts to fall apart.

"That's what I wanted to focus on most: the family aspect," Medina said. "What does a family experience and what are their challenges and what are their needs during this time?"

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