A Google user
The setting is Aurora, Minnesota during the winter. There are as many people who travel by skis and snowmobiles as by cars in Aurora.
Judge Robert Parrent is found dead, a possible suicide. The newspaper delivery boy, Paul LeBeau, is missing. All of Paul's deliveries were made, up to the Judge's home.
Cork O'Connor, once a cop in Chicago and a former sheriff in Aurora, feels compelled to take action when there is need to solve a crime and Paul's mother, asks him for help.
Cork is undergoing a time of turmoil. His wife, Jo, wants a divorce and he is separated from his children as Chirstmas approaches. He does find emotional refuge with Molly Nurmi, a kindly waitress at the local coffee shop.
One winter day, he gives a ride to an old Indian wise man, Henry Meloux, who tells him that the Windigo has called Harlan Lytton's name. This is an Indian legend death is imminent. When Cork goes to Lytton's home to warn him, he's attacked by Lytton's guard dog and forced to kill it. Not long after, Lytton is murdered and it is learned that he had been spying on the local residents and attempting to benefit from his spying.
Cork doesn't believe that the Judge committed suicide. He feels that the Judge may have had something that the killer wanted. Cork also learns things about his own family that shake his well being.
Despite personal issues, Cork continues the investigation while pondering his own faith and his relationship with his children.
This is a find debut novel that won the Anthony and Barry Awards for best first novel. The author can certainly write a story that captivates the reader. There are memorable characters and the setting is vividly described with the frozen countryside of Minnesota. With his use of Indian folk lore, the author places himself as a successor to the legendary Tony Hillerman.
A Google user
Cork O'Connor is original, but the rest is just so same - same. No originality, each statement sounds like it was borrowed from the many before it. A captivating story has a freshness about it, makes you want to immerse yourself in the world they have created. This makes me shake my head in embarrassment for the writer. Clearly they dont respect the writing process and so they will never have a bestseller. Unfortunately, not everyone has what it takes, but at least you tried.
5 people found this review helpful
Ross Klutke
A moving pace. Suspense enough to keep the reader's attention, without the jittery feeling that comes with to much tension.
5 people found this review helpful