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Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML: "One of today's automatic buy-today-read-tonight series...thoughtful but suspenseful, fast but lasting, contemporary but strangely timeless." (Lee Child) In the extraordinary new Cork O'Connor thriller from New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author William Kent Krueger, the lives of hundreds of innocent people are at stake when Cork vanishes just days before his daughter's wedding. Since the violent deaths of his wife, father, and best friend all occurred in previous Novembers, Cork O'Connor has always considered it to be the cruelest of months. Yet, his daughter has chosen this dismal time of year in which to marry, and Cork is understandably uneasy. His concern comes to a head when a man camping in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness goes missing. As the official search ends with no recovery in sight, Cork is asked by the man's family to stay on the case. Although the wedding is fast approaching and the weather looks threatening, he accepts and returns to that vast wilderness on his own. As the sky darkens and the days pass, Cork's family anxiously awaits his return. Finally certain that something has gone terribly wrong, they fly by floatplane to the lake where the missing man was last seen. Locating Cork's campsite, they find no sign of their father. They do find blood, however. A lot of it. With an early winter storm on the horizon, it's a race against time as Cork's family struggles to uncover the mystery behind these disappearances. Little do they know, not only is Cork's life on the line, but so are the lives of hundreds of others. A taut, suspenseful thriller, Manitou Canyon features everything readers love in a Cork O'Connor novel: a dramatic Northwoods setting, an intriguing view of the Objibwe culture, an enigmatic crime, masterful storytelling, and more than a few surprises..… (more)
User reviews
When John Harris disappears on a fishing trip with his grandchildren, the two siblings do not give him up for lost. The granddaughter convinces Cork O’Connor to help her find him in the Boundary Waters. A man is killed and Cork and the granddaughter are
A good writer tells an intriguing story of betrayal, greed, love, family and friendship in this tale of the First Nations and looming ecological disaster.
4 of 5 stars
In this outing Cork goes missing trying to locate a missing grandfather whom Cork knew as a child. The descriptions of the lakes in the boundary waters, the scenery, just gorgeous. Suspenseful because while we are privy to both sides, those searching for Cork, including family members and Cork himself, Corks side seems very implosive. There is honor among thieves and some dishonor among them as well. A new arrival will shake things up too. he ending was a little sentimental, but with this family oh so very fitting.
ARc from published.
Cork thinks of himself as “ogichidaa” - someone
Thus he agrees to help Lindsay and Trevor Harris find their grandfather, who went missing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. There had been an extensive search already for John Harris, but he was not found. The grown grandchildren want Cork to try again, and Lindsay wants to go with him. Perhaps their most persuasive argument is that Trevor has had a vision in which Cork’s son Stephen appeared, and said something few people outside the family would know. Cork agreed to go, but told them his daughter Jenny was getting married in two weeks, so he needed to be in and out quickly, and they consented to his terms.
First Cork went to see the local Anishinaabe medicine man and his friend, Henry Meloux for advice. Henry offered his usual cryptic riddles that of course turned out to be relevant eventually. Cork has more ties to Henry than their friendship over the years. He has been seeing Henry’s niece, Rainy Bisonette, and it is Daniel, Rainy’s nephew, that Jenny plans to marry.
But all of those plans and relationships may be in jeopardy when Cork and Lindsay also go missing, and a search party discovers abandoned tents and a great deal of blood.
Evaluation: I only read two of the (early) Cork O’Connor books before this one, and liked them both. While I was surprised at the way characters and circumstances had changed in this one, I did not feel lost or that this one could not stand alone. The author says on his website that there will be other books coming in the series, but he could have easily wrapped it up with this book. What happened and how it all ended seemed a bit formulaic, but Krueger is a good writer, and I love the integration of Native American culture into his stories.
His writing is so descriptive and insightful, thoughtful and provocative.
His writing evokes such a ‘sense of place’ that I feel that I know this ‘Boundary Waters Area’ intimately.
“The trees lining the path felt like dark
His characters are familiar to me, like close friends or neighbors. The plots play out as morality plays. Tensions weave in and out of every character, movement and place.
MANITOU CANYON does not disappoint in any way.
This is another quality entry in the series. As usual, the plot is good. Although, in retrospect, I recognized a few clues strewn along the way, I was completely surprised by the twist at the end. And the ending is a thriller.
Cork is a tough, resourceful guy but part of what makes the series so appealing are his fallibilities. He is ogichidaa, one who stands between evil and his people, but he blames himself for the evil he has not been able to stave off: the death of his wife, the shooting of his son and the many young Indian girls he was unable to save from sexploitation in Windigo Island. As his wise old friend Henry Meloux said:
“Sometimes a man walks into the night and does not understand why he cannot see. He blames himself for the dark he is in. I think that is Corcoran O’Connor.”
By the end of the book, with the help of one of his abductors, Cork achieves some acceptance that evil will exist despite his efforts and he needs to be satisfied that he has done his best.
His concern comes to a
As the sky darkens and the days pass, Cork’s family anxiously awaits his return. Finally certain that something has gone terribly wrong, they fly by floatplane to the lake where the missing man was last seen. Locating Cork’s campsite, they find no sign of their father. They do find blood, however. A lot of it.
With an early winter storm on the horizon, it’s a race against time as Cork’s family struggles to uncover the mystery behind these disappearances. Little do they know, not only is Cork’s life on the line, but so are the lives of hundreds of others.