Synopses & Reviews
The sixth novel in William Kent Krueger's award-winning suspense series finds Cork O'Connor running for his life -- straight into a murderous conspiracy involving teenage runaways.
In well-crafted settings that are beautiful and unforgiving, with unforgettable characters and jaw-dropping surprises, William Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor thrillers have drawn a flood of awards and praise. The latest in the series finds the sheriff running for his life from professional hit men who have already put a bullet through his leg. Desperate, he finds sanctuary outside a small town called Bodine on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in an old resort owned by his cousin, Jewell DuBois. Though Jewell, a bitter widow whose husband may have been killed by cops, keeps Cork at arm's length, her fourteen-year-old son, Ren, is looking for a friend. But being a father figure to Ren will prove more difficult than Cork could possibly imagine.
When the body of a young girl surfaces along the banks of the Copper River and another teenager vanishes, Cork must choose between helping to solve these deadly mysteries and thwarting the hit men who draw closer to him with every hour. Recklessly, he turns from his own worries and focuses on tracking the conspiracy of killers before Ren and his best friend, Charlie, fall victim. It's an error -- one a good man might make -- but as the contract killers who are hunting him close in, Cork realizes too late that it may be the last mistake he'll ever make.
The trail left by the dead girl eventually leads to a shelter for homeless youth and into the grim reality of children lost and abandoned, who become easy prey for the perverted appetites of human predators. All small towns have buried secrets but, as Cork soon learns, this one has more than its share.
Review
"
Copper River, like each of the previous entries in the Cork O'Connor series, is a riveting thriller rich in character, incident, insight, textured plotting, and evocative prose that captures the lore and rhythms of life -- and the pain and sadness of death -- in America's heartland. It's a novel to be savored, and one that makes the reader eager for the next installment. William Kent Krueger may just be the best pure suspense novelist working today."
-- Bill Pronzini, author of the Nameless Detective series and Blue Lonesome
Review
"In
Copper River William Kent Krueger draws a powerful portrait of lost children caught in a culture that is indifferent to them. From the very first chapter, a scene of harsh beauty and shocking malevolence, we're on that train, and we don't get off until he decides to let us go. Krueger has an ability to pit the splendor of the environment against the violent and dangerous world of human beings. There is spirit in all things, he says. Be aware that nature can and will exact its own vengeance. Don't misuse power, and don't misjudge the natural world. Always remember that 'in the absence of wind, the grass still trembles.'"
-- Judith Guest, author of Ordinary People and The Tarnished Eye
Synopsis
The sixth novel in Krueger's award-winning suspense series finds Cork O'Connor running for his life--straight into a murderous conspiracy involving teenage runaways.