--- description: Find out why 'Mean Spirit' by Linda Hogan made the list. title: Mean Spirit: The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta5e4c0c203c61d7d/698a4084929fad8eccbfa2e7/MeanSpirit.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 03, 2023 # Mean Spirit by Linda Hogan by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  In Linda Hogan’s _Mean Spirit_, a 1991 Pulitzer Prize finalist, the unsolved murder of Grace Blanket, an Indigenous woman, looms large over her family, the Greyclouds, in the years following her death. Stace Redhawk, a Lakota Sioux working for the government, investigates Grace’s case and the darker secrets haunting the Osage tribe she belonged to. Inspired by the [real-life Osage murders](https://time.com/4737945/killers-flower-moon-david-grann-review/ "undefined") and Oklahoma land grabs, as well as the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, the 1990 novel is a twisty exploration of not only the darkest parts of the human heart, but also the havoc wreaked by corrupt men and a corrupt nation. Tackling the issue of displacement with precision and insight, Hogan’s storytelling is remarkable, powerful, and essentially human. _—Cady Lang_ **Buy Now:** _Mean Spirit_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781501112454 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/47SFPeE "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309193/mean-spirit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309193/mean-spirit/"},"headline":"Mean Spirit","datePublished":"2023-10-03T11:50:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:20:33.142Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309193/mean-spirit/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta5e4c0c203c61d7d/698a4084929fad8eccbfa2e7/MeanSpirit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta5e4c0c203c61d7d/698a4084929fad8eccbfa2e7/MeanSpirit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309193/mean-spirit/","name":"Mean Spirit"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How We Chose the 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time","description":"Here's how TIME created its 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books list. There are books from 15 different countries, and no author appears on the list more than once.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bNzuDcsg/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-10-02T16:54:39.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bNzuDcsg.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309193/mean-spirit/","duration":"PT1M35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309193/mean-spirit/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```