Cork O'Connor Mystery Series #15
ISBN: 9781476749266
Publisher: Atria
Publication Date: 9/6/2015
Format: Hardcover
My Rating: 4 Stars “One of today's automatic buy-today-read-tonight series...thoughtful but suspenseful, fast but lasting, contemporary but strangely timeless.” (Lee Child) In the extraordinary new Cork O’Connor thriller from New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–winning author William Kent Krueger, the lives of hundreds of innocent people are at stake when Cork vanishes just days before his daughter’s wedding. Since the violent deaths of his wife, father, and best friend all occurred in previous Novembers, Cork O’Connor has always considered it to be the cruelest of months. Yet, his daughter has chosen this dismal time of year in which to marry, and Cork is understandably uneasy.
His concern comes to a head when a man camping in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness goes missing. As the official search ends with no recovery in sight, Cork is asked by the man’s family to stay on the case. Although the wedding is fast approaching and the weather looks threatening, he accepts and returns to that vast wilderness on his own.
As the sky darkens and the days pass, Cork’s family anxiously awaits his return. Finally certain that something has gone terribly wrong, they fly by floatplane to the lake where the missing man was last seen. Locating Cork’s campsite, they find no sign of their father. They do find blood, however. A lot of it.
With an early winter storm on the horizon, it’s a race against time as Cork’s family struggles to uncover the mystery behind these disappearances. Little do they know, not only is Cork’s life on the line, but so are the lives of hundreds of others.
A taut, suspenseful thriller, Manitou Canyon features everything readers love in a Cork O’Connor novel: a dramatic Northwoods setting, an intriguing view of the Objibwe culture, an enigmatic crime, masterful storytelling, and more than a few surprises.
My Review
A special thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. William Kent Krueger returns with Cork O’Connor #15 MANITOU CANYON, with yet another suspenseful gripping ride in the Northwoods steeped in the mythology of American Indian tribes of Minnesota--with his signature storytelling, and lots of twists and soul searching, for his protagonist. Corcoran O’Connor knew that November was the bastard of all months. Anyone who thought different had never been in Minnesota’s North Country during this time. His own father who had been sheriff of Tamarack County four decades earlier, had been mortally wounded in the last week of October, had lingered for two days and had finally succumbed in the first hour of the first day of a long ago November. His wife had had gone missing and for all intents and purposes was dead to him in a November, not so long ago. On top of this, his good and true friend George LeDuc had been murdered in that same November. Not only was this a dreary month, a deadly one. From ghosts, demons, and regrets. Yet, his daughter Jenny has chosen this dismal time of year in which to marry, and Cork is understandably uneasy. Was she doing this on purpose to change his thinking? Now, his is asked to find a wealthy man who has vanished without a trace in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. He agrees and embarks on the hopeless mission, only to vanish in that vast wilderness himself, just days before his daughter’s wedding. In a race against time, as the tension and dangers mount, Cork’s family has to uncover the mystery behind the disappearances. The land that Native Americans call their home versus the interests of big mining. How do Native people battle these deep pocket interests? History, family, a dam and those fighting against it. An environmental disaster. Between Cork’s need for survival while on this perilous trip through the Boundary Waters to Canada and his family’s desperate search for him, mixed with the reason behind his captive--he finds himself conflicted while in a dangerous place, both physically, spiritually, and morally. November had been a month full of nothing but loss and despair in the past. Will Cork’s outlook on the month change, after his latest adventure? Thought-provoking! As always, Krueger continues to deliver masterful storytelling, mixed with the rich, vivid settings of the great outdoors and wilderness, tantalizing literary tidbits, Objibwe culture, and of course plenty of mystery, suspense, intrigue and great crime writing (with substance). So excited to learn from an online interview with the author, Krueger is working on a companion to Ordinary Grace, called “This Tender Land,” coming the Spring of 2018.
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About the Author
Raised in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, William Kent Krueger briefly attended Stanford University—before being kicked out for radical activities. After that, he logged timber, worked construction, tried his hand at freelance journalism, and eventually ended up researching child development at the University of Minnesota. He currently makes his living as a full-time author. He’s been married for over 40 years to a marvelous woman who is an attorney. He makes his home in St. Paul, a city he dearly loves. Read More
