William Kent Krueger delivers another masterclass in suspense and atmospheric storytelling with his latest Cork O’Connor novel, Spirit Crossing, the twentieth book in his New York Times bestselling series.
After sitting out a year, Cork O’Connor is finally back. Set after the events of Fox Creek (2022), Cork’s grandson, Waaboo, stumbles upon a shallow grave while picking blueberries with his father and grandpa. Initially, it was thought that the remains may be those of Olivia Hamilton, the daughter of a state senator who went missing a few weeks ago. Olivia, who comes from a wealthy family who made their money long ago during the early days of mining by shipping ore from the Iron Range across Lake Superior, is—to put it mildly—rather privileged. From getting kicked out of multiple private schools, both in and outside of Minnesota, to getting arrested for driving while intoxicated with a suspended driver’s license, Olivia has been no fair princess. As a result, she was “sentenced” to spend the summer as a counselor at a youth camp in Aurora. The hope was that she’d learn some manners, but perhaps more importantly, her banishment and seclusion would give her father, who desperately needed his little girl to stay out of the headlines, some political cover. Instead, the exact opposite happened.
After growing bored at the camp, Olivia snuck out one night with a guy named Harvey, who threw her on the back of his motorcycle and throttled off for a good time. That pursuit of a “good time” led the duo to Howling Wolf, a rough spot full of drunk men with questionable morals. That was the last time anyone saw Olivia, who was reported missing the next day. With her face plastered all over the news, a manhunt was quickly underway, with everyone from the Tamarack County Sheriff’s personnel to the state patrol, Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and even the FBI pitching in to find Olivia, the hope was that she’d soon be found unharmed. Her parents even offered up a $50,000 cash reward to anyone who could provide a tip that would lead to Olivia.
But while the whole state searched for Oliva Hamilton, nobody seemed all that concerned with the growing number of missing Indigenous women. And when it turns out that the remains Cork’s grandson stumbled upon are not, in fact, Olivia, law enforcement agencies show little to no interest in identifying the young woman. Always one to fight for the powerless, Cork gets to work and quickly realizes that the body they found was most likely Crystal Two Knives, a local Ojibwe woman who disappeared almost six months prior. Joining forces with the recently formed Iron Lake Ojibwe Tribal Police, Cork vows to find the truth about whatever happened to Crystal. But when there’s a break in the missing person’s case of Olivia Hamilton, Cork starts asking questions that set off a nail-biting chain of events, pulling the half-Irish, half-Ojibwe Private Investigator into one of his most haunting investigations yet.
One of the finest writers in the genre today, William Kent Kruger, skillfully weaves a hair-raising mystery while deftly and simultaneously touching on a number of important issues in a way that only he can seem to pull off. From the horrors of human trafficking to the spirituality of the land, Krueger is fearless and unflinching in his writing, willing to explore topics that can be hard to learn about, while most other writers opt to play it safe and reach for lower-hanging fruit. That, in a sense—his willingness to go against the grain and follow his own convictions as a storyteller—is a trait he shares with his beloved hero, Cork O’Connor, who leads with his heart but solves crimes with his gut and his head, both of which are finely tuned after decades of chasing down bad guys. There’s a hint of some supernatural elements here, to be sure, but not so much that readers who prefer straight-up mysteries will be turned off. Also, things do get a tad dark at times, but more in a creepy, read-with-the-light-on-just-in-case way than anything truly disturbing. And as always, once Cork is on the hunt, this story is damn hard to put down.
William Kent Krueger dazzles with his latest Cork O’Connor novel, Spirit Crossing, a riveting adventure that’s every bit as vast, mysterious, and complex as the wilderness itself, further solidifying his place as a master of the genre. Here’s to hoping Cork is back in 2025.
Book Details
Author: William Kent Krueger
Series: Cork O’Connor #20
Pages: 368 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1982179243
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: August 20th, 2024
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