Review - Thunder Bay

I met this author at a writing conference and was quite impressed with a workshop he gave.  I bought this book and just now got to read it.  This was a new author to me, perhaps to you as well.  See how the book stood up to my high expectations.

Author: William Kent Krueger

Copyright: 2007 (Atria Books) 304 pgs

Series: 7th in Cork O'Connor Investigation series

Sensuality: Adult situations, nothing explicit

Mystery Sub-genre: Private Investigator, suspense

Main Character: Corcoran (Cork) O'Connor, restaurant and gift shop owner and part-time PI

Setting: modern day, Aurora, Minnesota (northern Minnesota's lake country)

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest review

Henry Meloux asks Cork, working as a part-time PI, to find a long-lost son the ancient Ojibwe medicine man has never met... from a relationship with a white woman, Maria Lima, seventy-three years ago. Cork gets two clues to work from: a location in Canada and a gold watch with a picture of Maria.  Cork proves his PI chops by shortly locating the son, who is an eccentric retired mining entrepreneur.  Managing a meeting between the rich son and elderly Henry is a challenge and his initial efforts are answered with an attempt on Henry's life.  Henry isn't deterred and insists his son needs him, propelling Cork into a dangerous labyrinth.

Cork is Part Irish, part Anishinaabe Indian. He juggles helping Henry with a family crisis.  He is a family-first guy and Henry is extended family, which shows much about his inner-man.  Jo, is his capable wife and a lawyer who I respected greatly.  Henry Meloux, Ojibwe elder and Cork's spiritual adviser is a character I quickly loved and his past love affair gave him a bittersweet quality.  Wally Schanno is a widower who is struggling through his grief and asks to help Cork with any PI work.  I felt for him from the first pages.  Trinky Pollard is a retired Canadian Royal Mounted Police who helps the gang on the Canadian side.  Cork's daughter Jenny is going through a lot in the story.  She is a thoughtful and sensitive girl on the brink of college having her mettle tested...which tests Cork's ability to not barge in and fix things.  

Krueger is known for creating a strong sense of atmosphere, and I think his reputation is well earned.  The scenes of Henry in the Canadian wilderness had me smelling the cook fire and pine trees.  The plot took a basic concept of a long lost son and built a web of suspense with murder and greed.  The pace increased as the story developed.  The climax was a nail biting deadly confrontation that got the blood pumping. The wrap up tied up all the various threads to satisfactory conclusions. 

This was my first exposure to the author and the series and it delivered a rich tapestry, layered plot, and defined characters.  This won't be my last book in the series!

Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list

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