Reviewed By: Carl Brookins - RAM
Copper River
Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
William Kent Krueger
Class/Genre: Mystery Thriller
Series: Cork O'Connor # 6
Atria, Hardcover, 309 pages, $24.00
The book has just been released. In the spirit of full disclosure, I report that Kent is a fellow member of the Minnesota Crime Wave, and the critique group I belong to, and we are friends. Having said that, let me assure readers that this is a dynamite book. Another in the fine Cork O'Connor series. Those who have read Mercy Falls will naturally want to buy this book since it completes the arc that begins with the previous book. Nevertheless, Copper River is complete within its own covers.
But there is considerably more here. O'Connor, wounded by a professional killer, goes to ground in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with distant relatives in a somewhat uncomfortable situation. That's important to know because this book also explores some horrific circumstances that effectively demonstrate that our often common view of bucolic small-town life is sometimes at serious odds with reality.
O'Connor, fearing for his family, has taken refuge with the widow of a man he once arrested. While he heals he is drawn inexorably into the life of his nephew and the boy's interesting companions. That life finally leads to the uncovering of crimes first revealed in one of the most moving open scenes I have ever read in a novel in this or any genre.
Krueger is a fine writer and he knows how to build suspense while telling a good story. But his real strength is in the characters he develops and their interactions. But don't just take the word of this reviewer. Pick up a copy and read the first page. Just the first page. Not the cover copy, or that on the flaps. Just page one. Then decide.
Carl Brookins - RAM
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Carl Brookins - RAM
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