If you hear whistling in the forest...
Book review: The Whistler by Nick Medina
The Whistler by Nick Medina
Published: September 16, 2025 by Berkley
Buy this book at: Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Bookshop.org
Synopsis: Henry Hotard was on the verge of fame, gaining a following and traction with his eerie ghost-hunting videos. Then his dreams came to a screeching halt. Now, he’s learning to navigate a new life in a wheelchair, back on the reservation where he grew up, relying on his grandparents’ care while he recovers.
And he’s being haunted.
His girlfriend, Jade, insists he just needs time to adjust to his new reality as a quadriplegic, that it’s his traumatized mind playing tricks on him, but Henry knows better. As the specter haunting him creeps closer each night, Henry battles to find a way to endure, to rid himself of the horror stalking him. Worried that this dread might plague him forever, he realizes the only way to exile his phantom is by confronting his troubled past and going back to the events that led to his injury.
It all started when he whistled at night....
Rating:
Review:
I had high hopes for this Indigenous horror story and Nick Medina didn’t disappoint in the least. Apparently this book is related to Medina’s other book Indian Burial Ground. It’s not exactly a sequel or a prequel but the horror elements are related. I have not read Indian Burial Ground so this book works just fine as a standalone, but I’ve been told that if you’re a fan of the other book it makes this one even better.
The opening to this book was terrifying! There aren’t many horror scenes that can freak me out these days but this one did. I had to read it with all the lights on and firmly ignoring any hint of a noise from outside my own house. I kept throwing nervous glances at the window throughout the opening scene. Gruesome, scary and utterly horrifying.
Henry was a great character. There is such a dichotomy between the Henry that we meet in the opening and the Henry from after this injury is stark and emotional. He came across as so complex and real. He’s not exactly likeable. In fact, I didn’t like him much at all. But he’s genuine and you can feel his pain in every word on the page. It was painful to watch his struggle.
My only complaint about this book was that the pacing was inconsistent. The scares were fabulous and fast paced and naturally it slowed down in the not scary portions. But, at times, it slowed down to a crawl and I found myself getting a tiny bit bored. Apart from that slight issue, this is easily one of my favorite reads of the year.