Staff Reviews

Do you miss Tony Hillerman? William Kent Krueger is an extraordinary companion to Hillerman when you’re in the mood for great writing (Krueger’s descriptions of Minnesota seasons and landscapes left me breathless), real characters (recurring, Native American) and situations, you can’t miss with Krueger. Hillerman always gave us intriguing mysteries with a Native American influence and better than average recurring (though truly human) characters. Krueger does all this, with perhaps a bit more spice. Former sheriff Cork O’Connor and his wife, Jo are trying to get back to the good life they had with their children before each decided to try stepping out on their lives and each other. It’s a long way back, but they are doing their best. No longer sheriff, Cork contents himself (for the most part) by running a small burger shop with his teenaged daughters. Of course, there is an ever-present current of events that needs his expertise. Cork is part Anishinaabel/Ojibwe so he moves with ease between the Native American world and the white man’s world. This comes in handy when Karl Lindstrom’s lumber mill is almost destroyed. Cork steps in to help the current sheriff solve the crime. We meet John LePere, a Native American who can’t understand why life has dealt him such a blow as to be the only surviving member of his family. A freighter accident takes his brother. What can he do about it? And, Grace Fitzgerald, wealthy in her own right, married Karl Lindstrom after her first husband dies. Grace writes about times past and present and uses her life as a basis for her writing. - Wendy, Redbery Books, Cable, Wisconsin — From Wendy's Easy Chair 2