Northwest Angle (2011) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 4 stars

“After all that has happened in the last two years, Cork decides to take his O’Connor brood on a trip to the Northwest Angle, a clutter of 14,000 islands between Minnesota and Canada. This brood includes Rose, Cork’s sister-in-law, and her husband Mal. While showing his oldest daughter, Jennifer, an island Henry Meloux had introduced to Cork in his youth, they stumble onto an abandoned cabin containing the body of a young woman. Outside in a basket is an infant just weeks old. The point of view jumps from Cork to Jenny or Rose since each is in a different location after a storm separates them. It is difficult for Cork and Jenny to get off the island after a furious storm wrecks their boat and armed men return to the island obviously looking for something or someone. A religious cult inhabits another of the islands and it appears they are practicing more than religion. This installment is more about Rose and her husband Mal, a former priest. This family reunion seems like a religious sabbatical as many references to religion are made. A number of times it is mentioned how Rose and Mal had always wanted to have a baby but it just wasn’t in the cards so when it came to finding a home for the abandoned infant, I was surprised that it wasn’t Rose and Mal who ended up adopting him. Jenny’s boyfriend joins the family late and it is clear he and Jenny are having problems. Cork isn’t sure who to trust and once the baby’s father is located, the pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place. I was thrilled when Henry’s niece, Rainy, makes an appearance after her introduction in the previous book. She appears to be bonding with Cork’s family as well as Cork himself. Krueger has always been one of the best at sense of place as well as weaving Native American culture into his series. As with his past books, he doesn’t disappoint.”

• Rated 4 stars

“Good, like all of his.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger is the eleventh book in the Cork O'Connor series. Cork has taken his family of sister-in-law Rose and her husband, Mal, and three kids: Anne, Jenny, and Stephen, away up north to the Lake of the Woods on vacation, to help them all recover from the events of the past few books. He wants to spend some time alone with Jenny and talk with her about her growing relationship with boyfriend, Aaron, but all of his plans are shaken when a huge storm called a derecho blows up, separating Cork and Jenny from the rest of the family. The pair discover a murdered woman's body and upon hearing some strange noises from the forest, find her weeks old baby boy. They soon find themselves hunted by a mysterious man who may have killed the woman, and Cork is disturbed by Jenny's growing bond with the infant. When the family is finally united they find themselves cut off from the rest of the world and facing an unexpected enemy. Krueger writes thrilling crime novels that are less about the crime and more about the characters. He wants to know how people would react to the horror of murder, and his stories are almost psychological profiles. By focusing on how each character is feeling and reacting, the reader is pulled deeply into the story. Unlike many series that have sequels into the double digits, Krueger's characters still feel very fresh because they grow personally with each story. Revisiting the O'Connor family in this book felt like catching up with good friends, so every twist and turn feels very personal and real. ”

• Rated 5 stars

“William Kent Krueger has delivered a fine novel with "Northwest Angle." This is a story with picturesque settings, a suspenseful plot that is unpredictable and a message about life.

Cork O'Connor takes his family on a vacation, feeling that his dughters are getting older and there might not be many more opportunities.

When a descructive storm develops, Cork and his older daughter, Jenny, are separated from the other members of his family who are on a houseboat. Jenny hears the cry of a little baby and finds the child hidden. Then she discovers the body of a young woman who has been murdered. The woman shows signs of torture and Jenny assumes that she was the baby's mother.

As Jenny and Cork ponder their rescue, they wonder who killed the girl and how to save the baby.

Cork's sister in law, Rosa and her husband are on the houseboat. They both have strong faith but there are times when Cork is missing and other events occur that these characters wonder how God could allow this to happen.

The story is rich in American Indian history. Cork is part Ojibwe and relates well with other American Indians in the setting in the islands of the Lake of the Woods in Minnesota on the U.S. Canadian border.

Cork's son, Stephen, also demonstrates his spirit knowledge with the Indians. He has had training with an elder Indian, Henry Meloux, and remembers things from Indian history and nature.

I read the story compulsively and enjoyed the characters while wondering how they would escape their predicament.

The twist that the author provides adds to the intelligence of the story and the satisfaction with the outcome.”

• Rated 4 stars

“Would have liked him to explain that not all Christians are evil.”