Northwest Angle

The last two William Kent Krueger novels contain vicious, cruel women. Vermilion Drift exposes Monique Cavanaugh and Northwest Angle depicts Abigail Hornett. Two dark and heartless women have never been portrayed elsewhere. Do these women receive the punishment they deserve? Northwest Angle follows the O’Connor family on their quest to enjoy solitude together. Instead, a terrible storm called a derecho threatens the lives of Cork, Jenny, Stephen, Anne, Rose, and Mal. Jenny and Cork land on an island, but each in a different area. Jenny finds a cabin and a brutally murdered young Indian woman. Later, Jenny finds a very young baby with a cleft mouth, the murdered woman’s child. Now begins the race to safely return to Aurora. The show more description of the storm and the surrounding area shows the utter beauty and harshness of weather. Krueger contrasts the frantic religion of the Church of the Seven Trumpets and simple faith of Rose. Amos Powasan presents the belief that good holds a little evil and that evil holds a little good. The story follows that view. Does goodness shine in the end after all the horror? Each reader must decide on their own. But, such terrible women in Abigail and Monique. show less

Summary: A family vacation is disrupted by a derecho, casting Jenny onto a remote island where she rescues an infant sought by killers.

Cork O’Connor comes home to an empty house every night. It’s summer, and he decides to bring the family together on a vacation to Lake of the Woods. They are in the Northwest Angle, a portion of Minnesota north of the 49th parallel and separate from the rest of Minnesota, but connected to Canada. He’s feeling distant from his children, especially Jenny.

A trip to a remote island that Cork thinks will bring them closer fails when he presses too hard. Then disaster strikes in the form of a derecho with winds up to 100 m.p.h. They make for the shelter of an island but the storm hits first. Cork falls show more overboard. Jenny somehow makes it to shore. Exploring, she comes upon a cabin and finds a girl–dead. But it wasn’t the storm that took her but a killer, who had first tortured her. Looking around outside, Jenny finds a child, hidden away. Fearful that a killer may still be about, she takes supplies and finds a place to hide. The next day,her father finds her, but they also discover the killer is in pursuit. Help in the form of a search party comes just in time.

Reunited with the rest of the family, they have to figure out how to protect the child. One thing has become clear, however. Jenny wants to keep him, even though he has a hare lip. But it won’t be easy. The killer continues to pursue. Cork tries to turn the tables, sending Jenny and her fiance to stay with Henry Meloux, while they search for the killer of the young woman who is seeking the child.

They believe the killer is her brother, who may have been involved in an incestuous relationship. Before she hid away on the island to have her child, she lived on inherited land on an island run by a religious group, the Church of the Seven Trumpets. When Cork and the local sheriff go to investigate to see if they know of the brother’s whereabouts, a heavily armed welcome party meets them, which sends up a red flag.

Cork makes another mistake. He thinks the child and Jenny safe with Henry. Not so, thanks to a GPS device hidden by a secret ally of the killer. All this sets up a climactic confrontation at Henry’s cabin.

A religious element runs through the story. Rose keeps believing for Cork who wants to but cannot. Stephen, mentored by Henry is on the path to become a mide while Anne pursues a religious vocation. But it is Jenny who hears a call, that Providence, or whatever has given her this child. But she finds she must choose between the child and her fiance, who also faces choices. One bright spot is that we get a hint that Cork, a widower for two years has met someone.

This one was filled with suspense that never let up. Even so, Krueger finds the space to explore the mystery of the ties that bind families, even amid the strains of change and divergent personalities. There is also a theme of sacrifice, beginning with a girl who dies to protect her child. It will mean more than one death, but each will save others. Most of all, we see characters who grow and blossom, including each of the O’Connor children. But I found myself left with wondering, will Cork grow, and will he find his lost faith? show less

I love this series so much, but this eleventh book in this series was a bit of a struggle for me. I cannot fault the writing or the mystery or the plot or the scenery, but i can give fault to the portrayal of some of the characters in this book. That is why the four stars and not the five which the book probably deserves. I just could not relate to or have any sympathy for Court's daughter Jenny. None of her dialogue was real and none of her behaviour made sense. In fact, I found her disrespect and haughtiness annoying and it turned me off. I loved the descriptions of the big storm and especially Henry Maloo's actions in his cabin near the end redeemed the book for me. Cork was a little lost too, but I blamed that on his daughter's show more strange behaviour throughout the book. But the action and adventure in the book were topnotch, and the "bad guys" extremely evil. All good. I can't wait to read more books in the series, but, in all honesty, i'm not thrilled about having to put up with this new Jenny in the mix. show less

Much of the action in this book takes place away from the usual Aurora, Minnesota setting. Cork and his family are in Lake of the Woods, a large lake between Ontario and Minnesota that contains 14,552 islands. Cork and Jenny are out traveling in a small boat when a violent wind (known as derecho) sweeps through, leaving chaos and devastation in its wake and Cork and Jenny stranded on a small island. Jenny finds a cabin on the island that contains the body of a young woman who has been murdered, and a tiny baby hidden away. Before rescue can come an unknown man with a rifle arrives on the island.

I had begun to worry that I would get bored with Cork and Jenny stuck on an island for most of the book. I should have trusted the author better show more by now. He doesn’t let the story slow or become stagnant, but gradually builds suspense to its natural explosive conclusion. I liked how the author bookended the story with Cork’s original concern about his family, and the reaffirmation of that family at the end. show less

In the 11th installment of the Cork O’Connor series, Cork takes his extended family for vacation on a houseboat on the Lake of the Woods. The plot is set in motion when a powerful storm, a derecho, shatters their plans. Cork and his daughter, Jenny, find themselves on an isolated island where they discover a cabin with the body of a woman who had been tortured and, hidden nearby, a baby. Then a man with a rifle comes to stalk them. Is he the killer of the woman seeking to cover his tracks? Is he after the baby that Cork and Jennie have rescued? Is there more? Of course there is: drug smuggling, a religious cult, Jenny’s bond with the baby and its effects on her fraught relationship with her boyfriend Noah and with Cork. The book show more delivers what I have come to expect from this excellent series: good plotting, vivid descriptions of minor characters, Ojibwe lore, evolving family relationships and the wonderful and wise Ojibwe Mide, Henry. In addition, threaded through this book is a discourse on the nature of religion.

I am on to the next in the series, Trickster’s Point. show less

After having read several William Kent Krueger books out of order, and loving them, I have committed to reading this series completely, in order and I'm up to #11.
This book was full of tension and action. Gripping almost from the start. Once again, Krueger's setting for this series is in some of the most beautiful sounding places, I've searched the area on google maps, and want to plan a trip.
At any rate, in this book, Cork has rented a houseboat and taken his kids, Rose and Mal, even further up North to the Angle Inlet Area right on the Canadian border. Here there is a lot of wilderness and small islands. One day Cork and his daughter Jenny take a small boat to explore and have some one-on-one time, the others stay, go berry picking, show more and relax. Suddenly a violent storm erupts, a Derecho, changing everything. Cork is thrown from the boat, and Jenny barely makes it a shore. Once she's recovered, while looking for her father, she discovers a cabin, and a body. Then she hears a baby crying. This chain of events ratchets up the action. Who killed the woman in the cabin? Who is the baby? Someone comes back to the island, and realizes someone had been there, and now he's chasing Cork and Jenny. They get rescued, but the action isn't over. There are many things going on that are suspicious.
Great read. show less

There was so much to question in this book. Each book in the series gives more definition to several characters and while Jenny, Cork’s daughter falls front and center in Northwest angle, I was disappointed in her portrayal. Her words and thoughts became redundant as the mystery moves forward. Rose’s character is given a larger thought process but there are no surprises, just more of the woman we have come to know from previous installments.

Krueger is a master at describing the scenery and temperament of the land and waterways of Minnesota bordering the Canadian provinces. His thoughtful introduction of the ways and customs of the Ojibwa nation is always welcome and informative. The harrowing encounters were well written and the show more ultimate new resolution of the O’Connor family allows the series to continue. While not my favorite it was nevertheless a much appreciated addition to the series. show less