Boundary Waters

Cork O'Connor is drawn into the search for the daughter of a woman he once loved when her stepfather seeks his help. Shiloh, a popular country singer with a history of substance abuse, has gone into isolation deep in the wilderness of the boundary waters between Minnesota and Canada, to work and heal. Her Ojibwe guide, a man who taught her the fundamentals of survival and served as her only contact with the outside world during her retreat, has failed to appear for a scheduled supply delivery. It seems there are a LOT of people seriously interested in finding her...including two men claiming to be her biological father...and not all of their motives are benevolent. A tightly crafted page-turner, with exactly the right amount of the show more right sort of suspense, seamless transitions between sections featuring the searchers, the stalkers, those waiting behind, and Shiloh herself. A fine piece of adventure. show less

About ten months after the events in Iron Lake, Cork O'Connor is asked by an old acquaintance to look into the disappearance of his daughter, Shiloh. The singer had witnessed, as a child, her mother's death and had since had a successful career but messed up personal life, even attempting suicide. Now, no one knows where she is but there sure are a lot of people trying to find her, and at least one of them is intent on her not being found alive...

The atmospheric, haunting sense of place kept me up reading this book as fast as I could. I criticized the first book for having plot swings that made me feel strung along, but this one had a great blend of character development, pacing, and strong sense of place. The details about Ojibwe show more culture and storytelling add interest and depth to the mystery as well. Though the second in a series, a reader could easily pick this book up first and follow without losing most of the relationships between characters that I'm sure continue to change as the series go on. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book soon. show less

This is my first experience with the work of Krueger and I quite enjoyed it. I especially like an adventure story set in the wilderness, with the nature playing a substantial role, and this one fits the bill nicely. This being the second one in a series, the main characters felt a bit like strangers to me since I did not read the first one. The author's descriptions of the natural beauty of the Boundary Waters and the onset of winter are vivid. The characters are well developed and the action is fast enough to hold the reader's attention. I really liked the way the author has weaved the life and the culture of the Anishinaabe people of the region into the story through some memorable characters.. The actual mystery and the motives of show more the bad people seemed somewhat tame to me, after all the suspenseful action. Though I could not fathom the motivations of the culprit, I could guess his/her identity by the mid-way. However, the enthralling setting and the fine characterisation offset the negatives to a good extent and I would rate it 3.5 stars out of 5. show less

Shiloh is a country music singer who is purposely missing in the Boundary Waters of the Quetico-Superior Wilderness on the Minnesota/Canadian border. Cork O'Connor is the former sheriff of Aurora, Minnesota who has been convinced to help search for her. He doesn't know Shiloh but he had a schoolboy crush on her mother many years ago. In addition to Cork the search party includes two FBI agents, ex-con Stormy Two Knives and his son Lewis, and Shiloh's father, 1CArkansas Willie 1D Raye.

Two evil men are also searching for Shiloh with plans to kill her. After witnessing her mother 19s murder many years ago, Shiloh got amnesia but may now be regaining her memory of that event.

This is an outstanding wilderness mystery with an action packed show more plot. The author does a wonderful job evoking the bitter cold and majestic beauty of the wilderness. He maintains suspense and weaves together native American culture in a totally mesmerizing way. Characters are rich and multifaceted. I definitely plan to read the rest of the series and have already picked up book 3, Purgatory Ridge. I am absolutely confident I 19ll read the rest of this enjoyable series during 2014. show less

I am hooked on this series and the character Cork O’Connor. Everything and everyone is so real. Krueger weaves murder into the Minnesota wilderness while teaching the reader about the Native American Anishinaabe. Their storytelling tradition is given the importance it deserves and adds much to the narrative. The descriptions are amazingly perfect and while the dialogue is sometimes brash it is dead on:

“He told Meloux things became clearer to him when he ran. But the way the situation stood now, he could run all the way to the f...*g moon and everything would still be a mess.” I got it.

I have #3, Purgatory Ridge, coming next and I can’t wait until the library calls that it is ready. To be picked up.

Digital audiobook read by David Chandler.

Adapted from the book jacket: Somewhere in the heart of the Quetico-Superior Wilderness on the Canadian/American border a young woman named Shiloh – a country-western singer at the height of her fame – has disappeared. Her father arrives in Aurora, Minnesota intent on hiring Cork O’Connor, the former sheriff, to find his daughter. Reluctant at first, Cork finds himself forced into joining a search party comprised of Shiloh’s father, an angry ex-convict, a pair of FBI agents, and a ten-year-old boy. But others are on Shiloh’s trail as well; men hired not just to find her, but to kill her.

My reactions:
This is book two in the series and I’m really enjoying getting to know Cork show more O’Connor, his family and his community.

Cork is part Ojibwe and so he has some connections on the rez who might be able to help in this endeavor. I particularly liked the contributions of Louis, the ten-year-old who listened and absorbed the traditional lessons of his grandfather and who occasionally reminds the adults of that way of thinking.

This is a fast-paced suspense thriller. It takes place over just two days, but a lot happens. There are twists and turns in the plot and neither Cork nor the reader is sure whom to trust. I like that Krueger does NOT have Shiloh sit patiently waiting for rescue; she’s a strong woman in her own right and even though she is unacquainted with the Northwoods wilderness, she is intelligent and works to save herself.

I really appreciate how Krueger writes about the North Woods. The landscape is practically a character – so vibrant and alive and sometimes menacing. I could smell the piney woods, hear the birds, fell the chill of an approaching storm.

I’ve read a later book in the series, and while the plots stand alone, (so far), the relationships do progress, so I recommend that people read them in order.

David Chandler does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. He sets a good pace and has the skills to differentiate the many characters. I really like how he interprets Cork and also Deputy Marsha show less

The second in his Cork O’Connor series, Boundary Waters by William Ken Krueger is a worthy successor. First off, survival books are among some of my favourites, so the fact that a big part of this book was about canoeing over lakes, portaging along forest trails and camping out in the wilderness only heightened my enjoyment of the book.

Shiloh, a country music star, looking for complete isolation, is guided to a cabin deep in the Boundary Waters territory of upper Minnesota. When she is ready to return, her guide is nowhere to be found. Eventually she decides to try and make it out on her own. Meanwhile, Cork O’Connor meets her father who has come looking for her and agrees to help him. Suddenly both the FBI and a well know mobster show more show up also trying to locate Shiloh and added to the mix is a mysterious shadow group who appear to also be on the hunt. As a child, Shiloh, witnessed the murder of her mother and from cryptic letters she has written, the theory is that she has remembered that night.

Suddenly the beautiful north country woods are teeming with all these different parties, some trying to rescue her, some trying to harm her. Cork O’Connor knows he is a good guy, but who can he trust?

There are a few plot devices that I found over the top, such as mysterious wolves that seem to appear just when needed, but overall this was a very exciting read about a search-and-rescue mission in this beautiful wilderness area. show less