Red Knife

Starred review from July 14, 2008
Racial tensions fuel Krueger's outstanding ninth Cork O'Connor mystery, which delivers everything its predecessors like Thunder Bay
have promised—and more. Threats from all sides assail former sheriff and part-time PI Cork O'Connor, who's part Ojibwa, in his efforts to mediate the smoldering feud between Tamarack County's whites and the recently formed Red Boyz: threats from Buck Reinhardt, brutal father of a girl destroyed by drugs dealt by Lonnie Thunder; from the Red Boyz after the gang-style execution of their leader, Alex Kingbird, and his wife; from the Latin Lords, expanding their drug trade into northern Minnesota. Simply and elegantly told, this sad story of loyalty and honor, corruption and hatred, hauntingly carves utterly convincing characters, both red and white, into the consciousness. Krueger mourns the death of ideals and celebrates true old values. As Cork tells an Ojibwa friend, “Maybe you can't alter the human heart... but you can remove the weapons”—the first step, perhaps, in blazing a trail toward sanity and hope.

September 1, 2008
Buck Schirner, an actor with a deep, full-bodied voice, narrates Krueger's ninth novel about Minnesota private detective Cork O'Connor with a blunt, no-frills delivery. His voice is a perfect match for a cleanly written, robust adventure featuring an honorable hero of Caucasian-Ojibwe Indian heritage who keeps his human faults and strengths under wraps. As the sleuth is drawn into a series of violent events triggered by the death of a local power broker's meth-addicted daughter-including a brutal double murder, a potential race war, a looming north woods drug infestation and a school takeover by an armed student-Schirner subtly shifts his narration to fit the situation. He softens it a bit for O'Connor's sensitive probing of his suspects, but toughens up when necessary, as in the detective's violent confrontation with a group of drug dealers determined to kill or be killed. An Atria hardcover (Reviews, July 14).

July 15, 2008
Although it is spring in Tamarack County, MN, a darkness looms over the townspeople of Aurora and the Ojibwe of the Iron Lake Reservation. Kristi Reinhardt is dead, and the blame falls on Lonnie Thunder, a young Ojibwe man known to deal both drugs and child pornography. Former sheriff Cork O'Connor, now working as a part-time PI, is called to a meeting with Alex Kingbird, leader of the Red Boyz, an Ojibwe gang rumored to be part of the local drug trade. Alex wants to offer Kristi's father justice to avert further violence, and he has called on part-Ojibwe Cork to set up a meeting. But then Alex and his wife are executed outside their home. Krueger's eighth O'Connor installment (after "Thunder Bay") involves several mysteries as more violence and deaths occur. Cork tries to find answers while keeping his family safe and doing right by both his former law enforcement colleagues and the Ojibwe people. While this tale of small-town racial tensions and drug trafficking by Native Americans is drawn from the pages of the newspaper, Krueger puts a very human face on these issues. For most mystery collections; recommend to patrons who enjoy atmospheric outdoor mysteries by C.J. Box and Steve Hamilton.Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Lib., Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2008
In the latest Cork OConnor mystery, the private investigator (and former sheriff of Tamarack County, Minnesota) is thrust into the middle of a deadly racial conflict. The leader of the Red Boyz, a notorious Ojibwa Reservation gang, asks Cork to arrange a meeting between him and the leader of a white gang, whose daughter was allegedly killed by a member of the Red Boyz. But before he can track the man down, someone murders the Red Boyz leader and his wife. Now its up to Cork to solve the crime before all-out war engulfs his rural Minnesota home. The Cork OConnor mysteries are known for their rich characterizations and their complex stories with deep moral and emotional cores. This one is no exception; recommend it to fans of Peter Bowens equally rich Gabe Du Pres series, set in Touissant, Montana. If you dont know Cork OConnor, get to know him now.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)