Wednesday, August 30, 2023

A Serendipitous Misplacement and Discovery

                                                     


Oh, my! I recently discovered three unread paperbacks that have been languishing out of sight in my workroom. I remember buying them back in 2009  when I was one of a number of authors at Murder on the Menu in Wetumpka, Alabama. 

Deborah Crombie, Cara Black, and William Kent Krueger were among the authors, and I bought books by each of them. I devoured Deb and Cara's novels and began to follow their mystery series--one set in the UK, the other in Paris. I'd been strongly impressed by Kent Krueger's talk about his novels, set in rural Minnesota, as well as by his delightful personality, and had every intention of diving into his series. But, somehow, it didn't happen, and the books got misplaced. 

My loss then--but what a bonus for me now! Back then, there were only three books in the Cork O'Connor series. And now there are eighteen!

Total immersion in a beautiful, backwoods setting, compelling situations, twisting plots, and a continuing storyline with characters I already love. Heaven!

I spent much of Tuesday's rainy day deep in the Boundary Waters, the Quetico-Superior Wilderness, "more than two million acres of forest, white-water rapids, and uncharted islands on the Canadian-American border," with a missing country-western singer and the various men who are trying to find her--some to rescue her--others to kill her. 

This series reminds me of one of my favorites--Hillerman's Leaphorn and Chee novels. Cork O'Connor is part Anishinaabe, and the Native culture is strong in these stories. 

I zipped through Iron Lake and am halfway through Boundary Waters now and glad that Purgatory Ridge is within reach. As for the rest of the series--with Kindle, I can scratch the itch whenever. 

What a treat!




5 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

I recently got up to date with Crombie, yet another American who write British mysteries, Elizabeth George and Martha Grimes being others.

Vicki Lane said...

Wonderful writers! I enjoy them all.

Barbara Rogers said...

These sound great. I've been watching the second season of Dark Winds, based on Tony Hillerman's first or second of a long series. As his books just got better IMHO, I hope they don't keep publicizing this as a noire genre'but I know they will because that's what their title infers. It's wonderful to watch total Native cast, produced mainly by Native Americans, and produced by such as Robert Redford.

Marcia said...

I've read his series too but not all. There was one more recently that I found very uncomfortable to read and quit. He has written at least two other stand alone books that you should read - titles escape me right now.

Sandra Parshall said...

Kent Krueger's writing is beautiful. The subject matter may not be for everyone, but his style and storytelling are superb.