Vermilion Drift: A Cork O'Connor Mystery, Book 10

First Sentence: Some nights, Corcoran O'Connor dreams his father's death.Max Cavanagh owns several mines, one of which is being studied by the Department of Energy as a possible site to store nuclear waste. In addition to protests causing Cavanagh worry, his sister, Lauren, has gone missing. Cork, hired to find her, does so but she is not alone. He locates her body in, what had been a closed off section of the mine, among five skeletons. The five skeletons are those of women known as "The Vanishings" who had disappeared decades ago, and two of the bodies contain bullets fired from the gun of Cork's late father.Recently, I was involved in a discussion of prologues and how many of us are either annoyed by them or ignore them completely. It takes a writer as skilled as Krueger to write a prologue which contains an important thread which runs through the story. This is not a prologue to ignore.Krueger has become one of my favorite authors. His skill with description take what could be a fairly ordinary scene, but instead comes alive with clear, visual images. We are able to go where the author takes us and be a part of that which is described to us. Even from those scenes where we might prefer to look away, we can't. That doesn't mean he is graphically violent; he's not. It is more that we feel the emotion of the scene and, thereby, understand it.Because I read first for character is another reason why Krueger's writing appeals to me. He creates dimensional, interesting, relatable characters. I'll admit I wasn't particularly happy with the events of the previous book, "Heaven's Keep," but the transition to this book has been very effectively and tastefully handled and I now understand the purpose of those events. Cork's heritage is half Irish, responsible for his impatience and occasional anger, and half Ojibwa, which connects him to the people on the reservation, Indian history, and my favorite character Henry Meloux. It also provides the link to the mystical element in each book.Before you walk away saying "I don't like woo-woo," wait. Mysticism and the spirit world are part of the Indian culture. They are also part--along with several other themes including that of what do we really know of our parents and the definition of evil--of what takes this book, and this series, beyond the normal and elevates it into something that makes you stop, think and consider.Krueger is a very fine author who knows how to create characters, write dialogue, set a scene and, most of all, develop a plot. The story continually builds upon itself. It's a twisty road filled complete with suspense, emotion and startling revelations. I despise the cliché of "If you've not read this author yet, read him now," yet that is the way I feel. Even if you don't, be assured I shall be reading his next book as soon as it comes out.VERMILION DRIFT (PI-Cork O'Connor-Minnesota-Cont) - ExKrueger, William Kent - 10th in seriesAtria, ©2010, ARC - Hardcover ISBN: 9781439153840

A mystery. . . . in the Northwoods . . . with a lot of characters . . . and it’s a dynamite book. . . . You may want to give it a read. . . . Once you start reading it, it’s hard to stop.

VERMILION DRIFT by William Kent Krueger is not a formulaic thriller. But it sure is a mystery/thriller.In this book, Cork O'Connor is a private investigator hired to find the person leaving threatening messages for various people involved in the use of a former mine for the storage of nuclear waste. One of those men also hires Cork to find his sister. So Cork is doing both jobs at once. But this doesn't last long. She is found, along with the skeletal remains of five other people, in a hidden area of the mine, the Vermilion Drift.Now it is Cork's job not only to learn who is leaving the messages but, also, to help find the person or people who murdered five people 40 years ago (as determined by a forensic anthropologist) and one person a week ago. At first, some mysteries, like whose bones have been there for 40 years, unravel quickly. But did the same person or people kill all six people, the five in 1964 and the one more recently? Do the protest and the protesters outside the mine have anything to do with the recent murder? How are the older murders and the recent murder connected? Why do four of the skeletal remains belong to Indians while one belongs to a white woman who was the mother of the sixth murder victim? Could Cork's own gun, the gun that was his father's when he was county sheriff 40 years ago, have been the murder weapon? Why are certain pages cut from Cork's mother's 40-year-old journal? These are some of the mysteries Cork must solve.This is one book in a series about Cork O'Connor, but it doesn't seem necessary to read the series in order. Krueger explains that Cork's wife was murdered a year ago; his children are adults now, scattered to various parts of the country; he is part Indian, and his past and present jobs have been and are involved with Indians and the local Indian reservation (the "rez"); and, like his father, he used to be county sheriff. That's explanation enough.VERMILION DRIFT is a thriller, with stories within stories within stories and with the answer to one question leading to more questions. It's better than most bestselling thrillers because it's not formulaic as so many thrillers are. It is character-driven.Only one criticism: the old Indian Henry. He knows so much yet will speak only in riddles throughout the book. And Cork reveres him. He just goes along with Henry's evasiveness and his sometimes corny Indian traditions and rituals that act like pauses in elements of the story that might have been more thrilling.Even so, readers will enjoy and appreciate this nonformulaic thriller. My criticism is debatable.

The ending was not what I expected but that is what makes a good mystery novel.

Great book - part of a great series

O'Connor ist nun Witwer und weiß nicht so recht etwas mit seinem Leben anzufangen. Die Mädchen sind inzwischen beide auf der Universität un d sein Sohn Stephen vom Tod der Mutter schockiert und mürrisch. Ablenkung bietet da ein neuer Slkandal: Die Regierung erwägt, eine stillgelegte Mine im herrlichsten Naturschutzgebiet Minnesotas mit Atommüll zu verseuchen. Bei den Erkundungsarbeiten werden Skelette entdeckt, Bis auf eines, alles junge indianische Mädchen. O'Connor wird hinzugezogen, weil dier Indianer mit ihm reden, mit den weißen Deputies nicht. Am Ende muss O'Connor sich zwischen den Weißen und den Indianern entscheiden un d für Gerechtigkeit sorgen.Wie gehabt - Storytelling von hoher Qualität.

I love all William Kent Kreuger books, particularly the Cork O'Connor series. This book did not disappoint. Great writing, great characters, great storyline!

Just DO read any book of his - convincing plots, great psychology, Amercican-Indian history, nature, you've got it all, so: read them!

コーク・オコーナー元保安官シリーズは邦訳も次々に出て根強いファンがついており、読み進めるほどに家族の結束の強さ、彼を愛する地域の仲間たち、そして作者クルーガー氏のミネソタへの愛情がいやが上にも増してきます。今回の舞台はとっくに廃鉱となったvermillion鉄鉱石採掘場で、エネルギー省が放射性廃棄物の埋め立て地として興味をもったことから陽の目をみたが、立て抗sinkにつながる横に伸びる坑道driftに死体がごろごろ発見され、ずっと昔に行方不明となった女性たちから、ごく最近の不明者までがいた。コークは地元の有力者とか、妻で腕利き弁護士のジョーとのぎくしゃくした関係といったもつれた糸に絡みこまれてアップアップしながら一歩ずつ真相に迫っていく。本書ではコークの亡き父（地域の名高い保安官だった）の話が重要なパーツを占めており、逸話が繰り返し語られる。シリーズのファンにはたまらない道行きであるが、そうでない単発読者にはいささか辟易するきらいがある。シリーズものの特徴ですが、本書を手に取る前にぜひこれまでのコークさんの本をお読みになりミネソタの自然とコークファミリーの環境を掴んでおかれるようお勧めします。「コークもの」は決して後悔しないと思いますよ。