Super Short Summary

In Sherman Alexie’s 1996 novel Indian Killer, an Indian man named John, adopted by white parents and suffering from mental health issues and identity conflict, becomes entwined in a series of murders in Seattle where a serial killer, dubbed the Indian Killer, targets white men. As tensions rise and violence escalates between different communities, the novel explores themes of identity, cultural appropriation, and systemic racism through shifting, often unreliable, perspectives of various characters, leaving the true identity of the killer unresolved. The novel contains depictions of violence, racial tension, and mental health struggles.