Blood Hollow by William Kent Krueger



$7.99 Paperback
544 pages

 This is book four in the Cork O’Connor mysteries. I’ve been listening to these on Audiobook.



Premise of the book from Goodreads.com: When the corpse of a beautiful high school student is discovered on a hillside four months after her disappearance on New Year's Eve, all evidence points to her boyfriend, local bad boy Solemn Winter Moon. Despite Solemn's self-incriminating decision to go into hiding, Cork O'Connor, Aurora, Minnesota's former sheriff, isn't about to hang the crime on a kid he's convinced is innocent. In an uphill battle to clear Solemn's name, Cork encounters no shortage of adversity. Some — like bigotry and bureaucracy — he knows all too well. What Cork isn't prepared for is the emergence of a long-held resentment from his own childhood. And when Solemn reappears, claiming to have seen a vision of Jesus Christ in Blood Hollow, the mystery becomes thornier than Cork could ever have anticipated. And that's when the miracles start happening...


In this “episode” we have Cork butting heads with the new sheriff of Tamarack County, Arnie Soderberg, and Fletcher Cane, father of the murdered girl; while trying to defend Solemn’s innocence. Cork’s lawyer wife , Jo, agrees to defend Solemn and she set’s Cork loose to investigate. I did find it rather fascinating, that Cork pretty much blithely runs around interviewing who he wants when he wants and nobody from the sheriff’s department stops him. I found that rather suspicious, but the author did try and give the impression that the sheriff’s department had stopped investigating when they accused Solemn.


It also seems odd to me that everybody (with the exception of Fletcher) seems pretty willing to tell the ‘former’ Sheriff of Tamarack County what they know. Doesn’t anyone ask to have an actual officer present? A lawyer? How in the world could Cork or Jo prove that these people said anything in a court of law?


Still, book four was pretty good. My main complaint was the reader – they switched readers between book three and four, and this new reader just seemed…bored with not much change in intonation between the different characters. However, reading quality aside, the plot kept moving along, there were interesting twists and turns, a few scenes were set up to be ‘predictable’ and surprisingly they weren’t. I found it interesting, for a small town where everybody knows everybody else, there is a lot of dirty laundry being aired.


Recommended if you’ve read book three which does a good job of establishing the setting of Tamarack County and the characters.

Recipe Review from 1/1/11

A new year - a new recipe tally.  My count has slipped the last couple of years - I've become more comfortable making good meals without recipes, I've been repeating recipes more, and I just needed a break. 

2010 - 85
2009 - 92

2008 - 129
2007 - 120

2006 - 103

2005 - 137
2004 - 143

2003 - 154

2002 - 129

Our household is settling into a new routine this year so I'm going to be looking at more soups and stews for lunches because they can be made on Sundays.  These will be predominantly our vegetarian meals.  I'll be searching for more dinners that will stretched for couple three days and when spring and summer roll around, we'll be grilling out and doing more salads. 

So to start of the year, the Husband and I made this:


Chicken Stew with Hominy  (Ckng Lght, Jan/Feb 2010)


Picture from CookingLight.com

 This is outstanding!  I decided I didn't want to putz with peeling 1 1/2 lbs of tomatillo husks so I bought canned, drained them, then just roasted with the anaheim peppers.  They weren't completely blackened, but bubbly warmed and nicely roasted.  Perfect!  While the pepper and tomatillos were under the broiler, veggies chopped, and the Husband had those cooking in no time while I finished prepping the chicken.  I had my doubts about using chicken thighs - they can make things greasy, but this was not the case.  The chicken turned out tender and flavorful, the sauce is not brothy, but not thick either and the whole dish was reminiscent of chicken enchiladas in a green sauce.

Total: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
2 Anaheim chiles
Cooking spray
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos (I used 3-11 oz cans tomatillos, drained and roasted with the chilies)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1 (29-ounce) can golden hominy, rinsed and drained
6 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
Cilantro leaves (optional)

Preparation
1. Preheat broiler to high.

2. Halve, stem, and seed chiles. Place chiles, skin side up, [and tomatillos], on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; broil for 5 minutes or until charred. Place chiles in a paper bag; seal. Let stand for 15 minutes. Peel and discard skins. Arrange tomatillos on prepared baking sheet, and broil 14 minutes or until blackened, turning once. Combine the chiles, tomatillos, 1/4 cup cilantro, cumin, and oregano in a blender. Add 1 cup broth; process until smooth.

3. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil; swirl to coat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and bell pepper; sauté for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour; sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic; sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Place onion mixture in a large bowl.

4. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add 2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add half of chicken; sauté 3 minutes. Add browned chicken to onion mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken and 2 teaspoons oil. Combine remaining 1 cup broth, tomatillo mixture, onion mixture, and hominy in pan over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Ladle 1 2/3 cups stew into each of 6 bowls, and top each with 1 tablespoon sour cream. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Tuna Noodle Casserole (Ckng Light Annual 2011)

This is not your grandma's church hotdish.  Made with frozen peas, carrots and a bit of celery (my addition) vacuum packed tuna, egg noodles and a mixture of a milk based sauce and mustard, this tasted fresh and bright.  It was just as good reheated - which was good since it did make three meals for two people.  This does come together very quickly, which I appreciated on a weeknight. 

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

8 ounces wide egg noodles

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/3 cup chopped carrot
(1/3 cup chopped celery)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 3/4 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
2 (5-ounce) cans albacore tuna in water, drained and flaked  (just buy the kind in the vacuum packs)

Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and carrot (and celery); cook 6 minutes or until carrot is almost tender, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in milk; cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk until slightly thick. Stir in cream cheese, mustard, salt, and pepper; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

3. Remove pan from heat. Stir in noodles, peas, 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and tuna. Spoon mixture into a (see note below) shallow broiler-safe 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray; top with remaining 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Broil 3 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

**I used an oven safe skillet and just slid under the broiler.  One less dish to wash.


Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca (Ckng Lght Jan/Feb 2011)

This was the cover recipe for the Jan/Feb issue and and I must say it tasted as good as it looked.  It was also super easy to prepare - I did slice the chicken breasts in half to make them thinner, sprinkled with salt, pepper and a bit of ground sage (a sage leaf seemed like too much flavor and I didn't want to buy a whole package for a handful of leaves), and wrapped in proscuitto.  A visit to a hot pan, a wait under a lo broiler and drizzled with the lemony sauce.  Result?  It was reminicient of breakfast sausage but for dinner.  Quick and deliscious.

.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cutlet and 2 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients

4 (4-ounce) chicken cutlets
1/8 teaspoon salt
12 fresh sage leaves
2 ounces very thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 8 thin strips
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/3 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Lemon wedges (optional)

Preparation

1. Sprinkle the chicken evenly with salt. Place 3 sage leaves on each cutlet; wrap 2 prosciutto slices around each cutlet, securing sage leaves in place.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add chicken to pan; cook for 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

3. Combine broth, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a small bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture and the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil to pan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain

 Ppbk - $16.00, 320 pgs

Warning: This book is not for the faint of heart or stomach.  Contents contain raunchy language, diatribes against perceived and actual sins committed, admissions of the darkest kind, confessions enough to make a chef blush, and talk about lots and lots of food - some of it even illegal.

The book is laid out in an essay format, each chapter receiving it's own particular topic.  Each topic flows in a somewhat linear fashion, but not infrequently is the reader bounced back to the past, to days when Bourdain was a line cook, or running Les Halles, or globetrotting for A Cooks Tour or No Reservations.  The reader is also treated to flash forwards, to insights and tidbits on how life changing it can be to suddenly have a daughter. 

One chapter may be a rant against McDonalds and the brilliance of marketing the corporations have latched onto in using children to part parents from their money.  The next chapter may be a look at Bourdains "Hero's" (Jamie Oliver) and "Villain's (St. Alice).  He may pontificate on how it was a huge disservice to all kids (and thus future adults) when administrations took away home ec in schools. The next chapter may be talking about Korean hot-pot, eating sushi in Japan, or Thai food. 

Yet somehow it all flows together.

My complaints with the book lie in the continual confessions of his past life.  Yes, yes, the reader understands that you are recovering druggie in the first 5 chapters.  By chapter 10, the reader doesn't need to be reminded of it yet again.   Then Bourdain goes on to describe a weekend of debauchery on some rich island in the Caribbean or some such place and oh, how awful it was.  Cry me a river.  The shock value has grown numb.  The writing style, the wit and the acid tongue can carry the story alone with out the continual pulpit confessions.

A few references may not entirely make sense if you haven't read at least one of his other books (A Cooks Tour, Kitchen Confidential, The Nasty Bits, No Reservations), or are otherwise familiar with his history at Food Network and the Travel Channel.  And, in case you think I am...exaggerating a bit, about any of what I've written above, please go read the warning again.  

Recommended if you want to hear about the food industry as it is, not how it's presented through the Food Network.

The Year in Review - 2010

I’m a bit of an A-type personality. I like to keep lists and notes and just compare one year to the next. Here's a look at the past year:

Books Finished:

2010 – 80

2009 – 45

2008 – 45

New recipes tried:
2010 – 82

2009 - 92

2008 - 129
2007 - 120
2006 - 103

2005 - 137

2004 - 143
2003 - 154


Team Shakti



Miles Biked:

2010 – 701 (personal best!)
Included the Split Rock Century – my first!
2009- 250

Miles Skied:
2010 – 71
2009 – n/a

Miles Hiked:

2010 – 48

Knitting Projects completed:

Socks – 3

Hats – 6

Mittens – 8 pairs

Scarves - 2

Childs Top - 1 for Miss A

Trips:

Grand Marais, MN

Independence, MO; Twins vs Royals

Door County, WI; Door County Century Ride

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

In Memoriam:

Audrey C. F.   April, 1933- April, 2010

Very Notable!

The Husband returned home from Deployment #2, Kuwait, in March.

After 3 years of being deployed, and two years of going to school, the Husband graduated in December AND started working at a local credit union in the accounts dept.  CONGRATULATIONS!  That's the best news of the year! 

Happy New Year!



When the Lion Feeds by Wilber Smith

When the Lion Feeds by Wilbur Smith
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Book overview: In part one, Sean McCortney and his twin brother, Garrick,are the sons of a wealthy cattle rancher in Natal. They grow up each a shadow of the other, come of age during the Zulu Wars, and learn what it is to love and to hate. When Garret believes Sean dead, along with most of his friends and family at the massacre of Isandhlwana, he marries Sean's young love. After returning from a very lengthy honeymoon, they discover Sean is not only alive, but back at Thanis Kraal ready to assume his role as family head. Garrick's wife, Sean's former love, has other ideas and Sean rides off into the Veld.

Part two we find Sean hooking up with Duff, a brilliant strategist, and together they amass a fortune in the mining industry, pitting them sovereign to sovereign against two brilliant Jews. They find that love doesn't always come in pretty skirts, gold is a harsh mistress and sometimes being beholden to no man is more freedom than any money will buy.

Part three, which in no way actually concludes the series, Sean has seen more heartbreak and misfortune than most men of his age. With his trusted Zulu warriors, he has slaughtered enough elephants for their ivory to start a new ranch of his own with his Boer wife and child by his side. But sometimes the universe, or the Veld, has other things in mind.


This was an engaging enough read, touching on those things South African - the Zulu wars, the Dutch influence, gold and diamond mining, cattle ranching, the wholesale slaughter of elephants for their tusks, and the heartache that comes with it all. But after a while it was rather like reading about waves: good things are going to happen, and then bad things are going to happen, but then good things happen, and more bad things happen... it's all unfolding much like a map.

The first two parts were stronger than part three. It was as if the author just wanted to wrap things up to set the stage for book two. And what did happen in part three really didn't fit with the rest of the book, again, a means to conclude book one?

I did thoroughly enjoy the setting in Africa - the veld, the mountainous country, the dry season, the rainy season, the interaction with the natives, the wildlife. Sean's relationship with Duff was humorous and engaging and Sean's Zulu friends added a nice touch of wit and counterpoint to the harsh backdrop.

However, I'm not sure I'm interested enough to pick up Sound of Thunder, which takes Sean off to the Boer Wars and the conflict with his twin brother who's been nursing his hate for 15 years. By the time I finished, I was at a point where, honestly, I almost didn't care any more - the waves are still going to come, and still going to go.

Recommended if you like long, page encompassing sagas.


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Knitting update: 2010 Christmas Gifts

I've been rather quiet on the knitting front, but that's not because my needles have been idle!  I didn't want to tip my hat (no pun intended!) too early. 

It started with the Bella mittens:
pattern by Subliminal Rabbit
#7 circulars
yarn is Swish Bulky by KnitPicks.  Awesome yarn by the way. 

I found myself with yarn leftover, and, thinking to be crafty, I decided mittens needed a hat.  The Button Tab hat was perfect.  I made four, with three different brims.  The seed-stitch brim was my least favorite because it made the hat rather large.  It was my intent to have the yarns match, but unfortunately, I ran out of the Heathered Green. KnitPicks discontinued that particular color and they didn't have anything to replace it.  So I bought some Swish bulky in a Garnet Heather (not sure if that is the actual color name, but that's what it looks like).   Buttons are made from white tail deer antlers. 

Pattern: Button Tab Hat

#7 circulars

Swish Bulky buy KnitPicks



The verdict?  I think they were happy: 

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

I did this as an audio book and I'm glad I did.  The reader, whose name I don't recall at the moment, was absolutely delightful!  His voice really brought to life Fat Charlie, Spider, Mrs. Dunwitty, Rosie, Daisy, Grahm Coats,  and all the rest.  It was listening to liquid chocolate, his voice and intonation was that smooth. 

From Amazon.com:  "Fat Charlie" Nancy leads a life of comfortable workaholism in London, with a stressful agenting job he doesn't much like, and a pleasant fiancée, Rosie. When Charlie learns of the death of his estranged father in Florida, he attends the funeral and learns two facts that turn his well-ordered existence upside-down: that his father was a human form of Anansi, the African trickster god, and that he has a brother, Spider, who has inherited some of their father's godlike abilities. Spider comes to visit Charlie and gets him fired from his job, steals his fiancée, and is instrumental in having him arrested for embezzlement and suspected of murder. When Charlie resorts to magic to get rid of Spider, who's selfish and unthinking rather than evil, things begin to go very badly for just about everyone. Other characters—including Charlie's malevolent boss, Grahame Coats ("an albino ferret in an expensive suit"), witches, police and some of the folk from American Gods—are expertly woven into Gaiman's rich myth, which plays off the African folk tales in which Anansi stars. But it's Gaiman's focus on Charlie and Charlie's attempts to return to normalcy that make the story so winning—along with gleeful, hurtling prose.

"Gleeful, hurtling prose" pretty much sums it up.  More often than not I found myself chuckling at a delightful turn of phrase, at a witty description (downside of audio books, I listen to them in the car and can't write stuff down), or I found myself entranced at another "Anansi" story.   Most people dread the drive into work, but with iPod in hand, I was practically running to the car so I could start the next bit. 

If you've read American Gods, Stardust, The Graveyard Book, Neverwhere and Coraline, you will probably enjoy this one. 

Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs

Book two in the Mercedes Thompson series.

From Goodreads.com:  The second installment of Patricia Briggs's paranormal fantasy saga...pits the butt-kicking mechanic/coyote shape-shifter against a foe that is as rare as he is ruthless -- a demon-possessed sorcerer who is also a vampire!



When Mercy agrees to help out friend Stefan (a bloodsucker from the local vampire clan in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State), she has no idea that she is about to inadvertently come face-to-face with an otherworldly creature that epitomizes pure evil. After barely surviving her encounter with sorcerer Cory Littleton, Mercy -- with the help of a small group of supernatural friends -- vows to track down the mysterious Littleton before he can butcher more innocent people. Her mission is twofold: Not only will she stop a mass murderer from killing again but she will also (hopefully) protect the invaluable secrecy of the vampires who live in the Tri-Cities area. But can a shape-shifting mechanic with a thing for Volkswagen cars defeat a monstrosity powered by spirits from the depths of Hell?

Friend Gail reviewed it here as well: Disorganized, As Usual.

Actually, Gail's summary is much, much better than Goodreads. 

Mercedes, aka "Mercy" finds herself caught between the Vampires and the Werewolves of Tri-Cities once again, this time pitting her against a vampire-sorcerer.  The Vampires, Werewolves and Fae are all deathly afraid of this creature, but it seems that everyone has pinned their hopes on Mercy being able to kill it.  Now, this does, at first reading, seem to be at the very best, corny, but oddly, Briggs makes it work and she does it well.  Book two was fast paced, a well thought out plot, and very interesting characters.  And, because this is book two, the characters start to flesh out a bit more (no pun intended). 

My complaint with this book was, because it was book two, that the author had to keep filling in background material covered in book one, for those poor souls who were by chance not fortunate enough to start with book one.  More than once I found myself going yeah,yeah yeah, story already! as the why fore and how were filled in. The downside to a series, I suppose, but I kept wondering if it couldn't have been done a bit more succinctly.

Nuff said. Off to find book three. 

Recipe Review from 12/1/10

I fully admit, it's been a couple of very slow weeks in the new recipe department.  I often find, following a longer vacation, that I prefer simpler meals that I can just throw together.  The Husband also had a friend over for a belated Thanksgiving dinner after we returned.  Even though I picked out a 12lb turkey, it took us a solid week to eat through the leftovers! 

But I did find time to make two new dishes:

Carrot Soup (Ckng Lght Mar 2009)
This is such a simple and tasty soup!  Bonus factor - this uses two pounds of carrots so if you are trying to use up those garden veggies, this is the dish for you!  I made it pretty much as written, but I did wish I had taken the time to roast the carrots and onions in the oven to add a bit of extra flavor.  I also think some fresh ginger would have been better than the powdered.   Still, not complaining, it was great for lunches with some cheese and crackers.
Creamy Carrot Soup
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 3/4 cups chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
2 pounds carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of ground ginger
2 cups water
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons heavy cream, divided

Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and carrots to pan; cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in salt, pepper, and ginger.

2. Add 2 cups water and broth to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until carrots are tender. Remove from heat; cool.

3. Place half of carrot mixture and 1 tablespoon cream in a food processor or blender; process 20 seconds or until smooth. Pour pureed mixture into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining carrot mixture and 1 tablespoon cream. Return mixture to pan; cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated.


Pumpkin Waffles (adapted from Ckng Lght by Culinary in the Country)
Sunday has become waffle or pancake day, and to try and prevent it from becoming the same boring pancake or waffle, we bounce around different recipes.  I believe a while back I reviewed the buckwheat pancakes?  Can't remember....  anyhoo, this week was pumpkin waffles!  Really, how can you go wrong with the soft essence of pumpkin and cinnamon, baked golden brown and then slathered in butter and pure maple syrup?  A bit of crunchy bacon on the side and it's almost heaven on a plate. 

Worried about making this and having extras left over?  No problem!  We love to freeze our extra waffles and pancakes and toast them midweek with a poached or fried egg.  Truly the original "Eggo". 

Pumpkin Waffles
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup vanilla soymilk  (or regular milk and add splash of vanilla)
1/2 cup mashed pumpkin
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and cloves.

In a small bowl, whisk together milk, mashed pumpkin, sugar, oil and egg. Pour into dry ingredients and stir just until moist.

Preheat waffle iron. Using about 1/4 cup of the batter per waffle, pour mixture into waffle iron. Let cook until the steam begins to subside - about 4-7 minutes. Remove waffles and repeat until batter is used up.

Makes about 8 regular sized waffles.

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #1)

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Jacket Blurb: Mercedes Thompson, aka Mercy, is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy's next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a bus for a vampire. This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy's connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water...  

I was dubious about this series - it was being dubbed as a "must read!" and "national bestseller!" which I tend to avoid like the flu. However, a friend gave this surprisingly positive review so I gave it a try.

This was a fast paced, well written, urban fantasy. The Grey Lords have outed the Fae, who now live on reservations because the humans couldn't quite accept them. Vampires still roam the night, and werewolves try and maintain their pack secrets. Somehow, Mercedes - or Mercy as she is called - becomes mixed up with all three.

What I appreciated was the strong heroine. She kicks butt, knows when to back off, and doesn't spend any time whining (no pun intended) about all the terrible things happening. I can't stand whiny heroines. The other characters were interesting and balanced enough to compliment Mercedes without detracting from her unique qualities.

Nuff said. I'll be reading the next one this weekend....



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Boundary Waters by William Kent Krueger

Boundary Waters, Book 2 in the Cork O’Conner series by William Kent Krueger



Premise of the book, from Amazon.com: Krueger's second novel features ex-sheriff Cork O'Connor of Aurora, Minnesota, and plenty of harsh weather. Here, a top-of-the-charts but depressed, ex-druggy country-western girl singer, Shiloh, disappears into the two-million acres of the Quetico-Superior Wilderness on the Canadian border. Cork, an old buddy of Shiloh's mother, whose murder remains unsolved, heads a search party that includes include two FBI agents, an ex-con, a ten-year old kid, and Shiloh's father. Permeating the tale is the spirit of the Anishinaabe Indians, while the heavy pelts on the muskrats point to a huge, bitter winter ahead. Meantime, some bad guys have tortured to death Wendell Two Knives, the Anishinaabe guide, trying to get him to tell where Shiloh has gone, since they want her just as badly as Cork's search party. Shiloh witnessed her mother's murder, then had amnesia, and through regression therapy seems to have brought up the killer. Was he her mother's lover, a Vegas casino owner named Benedetti, who now wants Shiloh dead? Why was Shiloh's therapist murdered as well? Will Shiloh survive to rebuild Ozark Records into an outlet for indigenous music? Cork remains a spritely, intriguing hero in a world of wolves, portages, heavy weather, and worrisome humans, with a third entry on its way.




This is the third book I’ve gotten on audio tape in this series. I read them a bit out of order – Purgatory Ridge (#3), then Iron Lake (#1) and Boundary Waters (#2). I’m actually glad I did, because if I had gotten to Boundary Waters without knowing something of what was coming, I would have stopped “reading”.  I thought this was about as well written as the "description" above. 


The audio pronunciations aside (not the authors fault but still distracting), there were small things that were just not quite right. Here we have a chase happening in the BWCAW (Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness) – everyone is carrying a firearm, nobody checked in with the FS, we probably have an illegal cabin, and then we have helicopters and planes flying overhead toward the end. I don’t mind fiction set in real places, but I DO mind when too many liberties are taken with the setting to make it fit the story.


My next complaint lies with the Italian “gangsters” followed by Vegas sheisters descending upon Aurora - one man each claiming to be the father of the missing Shilo. It was like no one thought to get a paternity test yet everyone was convinced they were the father, except her adopted father who knew he wasn't.


There were other issues – the whole spirit wolf and bear following the characters. The obvious clues being dropped to the reader but the characters couldn’t for the life of them, figure it out. Half the people paddling these canoe’s solo – unless you’ve got the right kind of canoe and the experience, then it’s not as easy as it sounds. Nobody thinking to do a police check on all these people making demands until after the fact or after it was too late.


So why did I keep reading? Because I know that Purgatory Ridge was much, much better, and after a while, even despite the inconsistencies and errors, one develops an almost vested interest in the main character and you find yourself hanging on grimly till the conclusion rolls around with something akin to relief. So, on one hand I want to say Not Recommended – just start with book three; But if you like Cork’s character and can tolerate some regional issues, then Reluctantly Recommended.

I need to read some science fiction now....