The shameful legacy continues. It must end.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to my sensitivity reader, Blase Jenkins, for helping me tell this story with dignity and respect. Any errors are mine, not his.
Thank you to playwright Ian Ross, whose An Illustrated History of the Anishinabe had a huge impact on me years ago. It was through his brilliant play that I first heard the story of the diseased blankets, which I’ve never forgotten. I was horrified that people could be so intentionally cruel and murderous.
To all the indigenous families who welcomed me and shared their stories when I was a rookie reporter at The First Perspective, I have done my best to honor you.
To my editor, Don D’Auria, thank you for continuing to believe in and champion my work, from 2015’s The Bear Who Wouldn’t Leave until today. Mere words aren’t enough to express my gratitude.
Thanks to the team at Flame Tree Publishing, and to all the readers and friends who continue to encourage my crazy writing dreams, especially Christine Brandt, Simon Fuller, Kay Deveroux, Nikki Burch, Lee Murray, R.J. Crowther Jr. from Mysterious Galaxy, John Toews and Dana Krawchuk from McNally Robinson Booksellers, Steve Stedulinsky, Erik Smith, Hunter Shea, JG Faherty, Russell R. James, Teel James Glenn, Henry Harner, Wai Chan, Catherine Cavendish, Somer Canon, Cedar Hollow Horror Reviews, Ladies of Horror Fiction, John R. Little, Lisa Saunders, and the amazing support system that is the Insecure Writers Support Group.
And thanks to all of my students – past, present, and future – who cheer me on and always give me a reason to smile. I have learned so much from you.
About this book
This is a FLAME TREE PRESS BOOK
Text copyright © 2019 J.H. Moncrieff
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
FLAME TREE PRESS, 6 Melbray Mews, London, SW6 3NS, UK, flametreepress.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Thanks to the Flame Tree Press team, including: Taylor Bentley, Frances Bodiam, Federica Ciaravella, Don D’Auria, Chris Herbert, Josie Karani, Molly Rosevear, Will Rough, Mike Spender, Cat Taylor, Maria Tissot, Nick Wells, Gillian Whitaker. The cover is created by Flame Tree Studio with thanks to Nik Keevil and Shutterstock.com.
FLAME TREE PRESS is an imprint of Flame Tree Publishing Ltd. flametreepublishing.com. A copy of the CIP data for this book is available from the British Library and the Library of Congress.
HB ISBN: 978-1-78758-299-6, PB ISBN: 978-1-78758-297-2, ebook ISBN: 978-1-78758-300-9 | Also available in FLAME TREE AUDIO | Created in London and New York
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