Description

A haunting debut novel where dreams, family, and spirits collide.

Night after night, Mackenzie – a young Cree woman living in Vancouver – has dreams that return her to a memory from before her sister Sabrina’s untimely death. But when the waking world starts closing in, too – crows stalk her every move around the city; she gets threatening text messages from someone claiming to be Sabrina – Mackenzie knows this is more than she can handle alone. Desperate for help, she returns to her mother, sister, cousin, and aunties in her small Alberta hometown. Together, they try to uncover what is haunting Mackenzie before it’s too late.

Publisher Review

'A rare voice in contemporary fiction. Her debut novel similarly carves out a unique space.' -- Claire Alfree * Daily Mail * 'At once stunning, terrifying, and deeply affecting, in Bad Cree, the reader is invited to flock with Jessica Johns through soaring prose glistening with the power of family, Cree culture, and togetherness. A novel that haunts; a novel impossible to put down.' -- Laura Jean McKay, author of The Animals in That Country 'Bad Cree deftly explores the permeable boundaries of dreams, reality, and culture, as well as complex family dynamics and relationships. A compelling novel that is a mystery and a horror story about grief, but one with defiant hope in its beating heart.' -- Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Pallbearers Club 'The novel serves as a window into a world where dreams intersect with waking reality ... It works equally well as spine-tingling thriller and a touching meditation on grief.' -- Publishers Weekly, starred review 'Bad Cree is an engaging read with well-drawn characters.' * New York Journal of Books * 'Bad Cree is a masterwork of creeping tension. Wry, moody, and subversive, Johns explores the power of connections, both the harm and the healing, with characters rich and warm, tangled in each other, to the land and to the supernatural. Couldn't put it down.' -- Eden Robinson, author of Son of a Trickster 'In evocative yet understated prose, Jessica Johns weaves a captivating tale of love, loss, the violence of greed, and the healing power of family. In Bad Cree, Johns delivers a suspenseful and thought-provoking page turner you won't want to put down.' -- Michelle Good, #1 bestselling author of Five Little Indians 'Johns ... ties Cree beliefs about dreams and deep-rooted indigenous lore to how women in a family rally around one another to battle grief.' * The Washington Post * 'Bad Cree is a mesmerising, enticing read. Jessica Johns writes the world in all its messiness and terror, while simultaneously remembering to centre its tender beating heart. A book about family and foundations, but also about how the secrets we keep can knock the floor out from under us. A captivating novel from an exciting new author.' -- Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things 'With creeps that are ever-creepy and love flowing like beer at a bush party, Bad Cree is a book about the power of dreams, home, and family. It reads like a tribute to the ones who came before us: Lee Maracle, Jeanette Armstrong, Eden Robinson. This book is tough iskwew in flannel shirts with long unbrushed hair, just looking good. It's tea rings on Formica tables, cigarette smoke wafting through windows, and an eerie magical realism that only belongs to the bush. Full of auntie power, Jessica Johns is really coming into her own immense storytelling ways.' -- Katherena Vermette, author of The Break 'Both tactile and dreamy, terrifying and beautiful, Bad Cree will wrap you up and pull you along for the journey - once it starts, there's no backing out, no pause, no stall. I have been waiting years for Jessica Johns's books - I say books because there had better be more! She did not disappoint.' -- Cherie Dimaline, author of The Marrow Thieves 'Lovingly layered, haunting, and effectively executed.' -- Alastair Mabbott * The Herald * 'Johns deploys and transforms horror motifs in this haunting story of Indigenous survivance ... The ghosts here are entirely natural, native to the setting of this novel and the worldview of its characters ... [A] narrative that is truly chilling and suspenseful. A powerful exploration of generational trauma and an artful, affecting debut.' -- Kirkus Reviews 'Johns laces cryptid terror into the sense of loss that her community feels ... Visceral details will have readers hanging on the edge of every chapter, waiting to see when the wheetigo will strike next. Perfect for fans of Ramona Emerson's Shutter and Stephen Graham Jones' The Only Good Indians - Johns is a writer to watch.' -- Booklist, starred review 'A story about grief and family and the lingering effects of the infringement of industrialism on native lands. At its heart are the strong familial bonds between its predominantly Cree cast of characters as the story is put in the context of the Cree experience, with aspects of their history, culture, and lore present throughout ... When the book ends, what readers will remember most are the moments these characters shared together, playing cards and talking late into the night.' * Library Journal * 'Steeped in Cree tradition, the complicated dynamics found in strong families and the perennial challenges of coming-of-age, this novel smoulders its way towards a gripping, supernatural, and unforgettable conclusion.' * Cambridge Edition * 'Johns utilises horror tropes to work out the ramifications of generational trauma to perfect effect ... a chilling narrative that's about spirits and ghosts, but also about healing.' * BookRiot * 'This gripping horror debut ... is a satisfying slow burn that explores loss, generational trauma, and violence through a narrative that is chilling yet, at its centre, burning with a defiant resilience.' * Electric Lit * 'Eerie, atmospheric, and intriguing ... a notable intervention into the genre and an accomplished debut: rich in dark folklore-inspired imagery, this is a novel about grief as a bond, inherited trauma through a cultural lens, and refreshingly intersectional sorority; with remarkable representation and a large cast of female characters at the core of the story.' -- Venezia Castro * The Skinny * '[A] wonderfully haunting and oft visceral read; one which plays with genre conventions to tell a story steeped in culture and chills.' -- Simon Clark * The AU Review * 'Bad Cree, the debut novel from Cree woman Jessica Johns, is a work of decolonisation. Reading this paranormal thriller is like watching your reflection as you walk towards a glass door: the story is fluid and lifelike but there's an unsettling essence of the untouchable, a reminder that there's more to life than the tangible.' -- Monique Grbec * The Saturday Paper * 'Clever, funny, moving, and haunting, Bad Cree employs and subverts genres.' -- Will Smith * The Bookseller * '[A] debut novel of extraordinary power.' -- Tammy Moir * HappyMag * 'Bad Cree is a creepily effective horror story. Johns makes the most of strange happenings, potentially deadly dreams, jump scares and evil spirits. This is a book that dares readers to turn off the light, consider not walking alone and possibly even turn off their phones. But Bad Cree is ultimately about the power of family and the deep well of knowledge within the Cree community ... She has delivered a sometimes chilling, page-turning narrative in which dreaming and the power of dreams is central. But Bad Cree is also a stake in the ground for the power of a community that continues to survive while dealing with the ongoing destructive impacts of colonisation and environmental exploitation.' -- Robert Goodman * The Newtown Review of Books * '[D]reams take centre stage in the narrative, there is a freshness to the way she explores the real impact that dreams have on ourselves ... The narrative is intricate and offers enough structurally and linguistically for more mature readers to take away from the text ... Johns demonstrates a real talent in the connection between waking life and dreaming, giving the impression of the spiritual world and its impact on the day to day existence of the "real world" that sits so comfortably in the narratives of first nation peoples ... It's dark, and there are some horrific sequences, but the construction of the supernatural really is something worth noting ... It sits in a genre of its own and creates an otherworldliness that is rare in modern novel writing. Highly recommended.' * NZ Booklovers * 'Jessica Johns weaves Native American mythology and classic horror themes together seamlessly to build a captivating and thrilling story of family, love, and grief ... One of Bad Cree's greatest powers is its effortless ability to show that not all hauntings are bad; we can be haunted by the ones we love and find comfort and solace in that.' -- Jennifer Fraioli * Readings * 'Bad Cree is an extremely accomplished first novel and Jessica Johns is a writer of huge potential. This is the future of the horror genre and it fills this old horror fan with hope.' -- Reader review 'Definitely a book to add to your list!' -- Reader review 'Jessica Johns' writing digs its talons into you - a chilly fever dream that unpicks family dynamics and generational trauma against a body-horror backdrop.' -- Reader review