Customer Reviews

Purgatory Ridge

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was introduced to Iron Lake, Krueger's first book through a St. Paul/Minneapolis Radio show (Garage Logic with Joe Soucheray). It was a great read. I read Boundary Waters, the next in the line of the Cork O'Connor books and just finished Purgatory Ridge.

Purgatory Ridge has everything you want in a good suspense mystery, great character development, excellent story line (this one actually had two), a couple of twists, and edge of your seat, page turning suspense.

It is obvious Krueger has done his home work. This may be a fiction novel, but the places he describes (Boundary Waters Canoe Area, North Shore of Lake Superior, Sawtooth Mountains) are all accurate. I spend a lot of time in Northern Minnesota. I associate with many of the landmarks in his books, and that makes me feel like I am part of the action.

Upon finishing the book, it is apparent that Krueger is going to follow up with another Cork O'Connor novel. I CAN'T WAIT!

This is the third in what discerning readers all over the world must hope will be a long-running series featuring Cork O'Conner, his wife Jo, and his three children, Jenny, Annie and Stevie. While this is a fine mystery, and a terrific adventure, all these elements of the novel are shaped and informed by the changing relationships among this family.

These relationships are at the core of author Krueger's interest, and while I feel he still struggles at times with female sensibilities, his "take" on father-daughter contretemps and emotional spread is dead on.

Lake Superior is a vast, emotionless, natural wonder. Yet we frequently describe it's many moods in human terms, its raging storms, its implacable irresistible strength, its icy coldness. In the dark foundation of this story, Lake Superior plays a real and important role. Krueger has taken the true story of one man's improbable survival of the sinking of a lake freighter in a November storm, and made it the prime motivator for everything that follows.

Some things in life, and in death, appear to be foregone. From the very beginning, when John LaPere loses his beloved younger brother to the great lake, it seems inevitable that LaPere's ancestral sensibilities will one day lead his feet into a path that intersects with those of the O'Connor family, and with others, whites and Indians, who live, work, plot, scheme and murder, in and around the small northwoods community of Aurora.

The story begins in high tension, death and destruction and rarely slackens it grip until the final chapter. In Purgatory Ridge you will find all the elements readers have come to expect from this fine writer: a complex plot, a great range of real characters who jump off the pages, descriptive passages that bring scenes so alive one can almost smell the pine woods of Northern Minnesota and hear the waves of the great lake, good dialog, suspense, well-contrived and placed sub-plots, a fired up pace and a careful, surprising ending that perfectly fits what has gone before. Purgatory Ridge is a novel to be savored.

This is the 1st Krueger novel I've read (I just found out its the 3rd in a "series") and I was totally captivated by it! The characters are incredibly lifelike, the storyline is well rounded, the plot is riveting, and the emotion is powerful.

When I first read the dust cover for a synopsis of the book, I admit I was unimpressed. But after reading only a few pages of the book, I was 100% interested in what was happening within the story (actually turned out to be multiple story lines - all receiving equal and adequate attention).

I'm on my way to get the remaining Krueger novels (excellent job, Mr. Krueger!) and I highly recommend this book as a very entertaining read.

The book did hold my interest most of the way through; it definitely was a fast-moving story. I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the setting and the characters. It started out to be a pretty good mystery, but didn't deliver in the end, and here's where I differ from previous reviewers. The blurbs describe the book as full of plot twists and surprise endings. I didn't find this to be true. I figured out fairly early on what Bridger was up to, and it didn't take a genius to guess who his secret accomplice was. So much for surprise endings. In addition, I found the dialogue to be clunky and awkward at times; AND, I wonder, does anyone proof the book drafts before they go to print? Does the author get to see a proof of his book cover synopsis? I wonder because on the back of this book it says, "When an explosion kills the NIGHT WATCHMAN at wealthy industrialist Karl Lindstrom's nearby lumber mill..." As anyone who has actually read this book knows, it was NOT the night watchman who was killed, but another individual. Just another example of shoddy editing...

Near Aurora, Minnesota, a major environmental-industrial dispute exists. The Anishinaabe tribe wants the two hundred acres of great white pines that are sacred to them as "Old Grandfathers" protected from the lumber industry. Karl Lindstrom's lumber mill resides on the edge of the forest and he is not known for his conservation methods. As is the case in many local arguments, outsiders come marching in to join the Native American protesting the cutting down of the trees.

However, all hell breaks loose when someone blows up the mill, killing a Native American employee. The industrial moguls blame the Anishinaabe tribe and the law agrees even though someone named the Eco-Warrior claims credit for the deed. Though he lost his job as sheriff a couple of years ago, Cork O'Connor, at the pleading of his wife Jo, the tribe attorney, begins to search for the identity of the terrorist. As he conducts the search, the Eco-Warrior adds kidnapping and ransom demands to his crime list.

PURGATORY RIDGE is an exciting ecological thriller that keeps the suspense and action at high levels throughout the tale. When the story concentrates on the central theme of conservation vs. development, the plot is as good as it gets. In those circumstances, all the key characters seem genuine in their beliefs. When the story line spins into sidebars like the ransom kidnapping it appears as if a plot device has been used to add unnecessary tension to an already strong novel. Award winning William Kent Kreuger has written a one-sitting tale that will send sub-genre fans off to read the previous O'Connor books (see BOUNDARY WATERS and IRON LAKE).

Harriet Klausner

I've been following Krueger's work ever since IRON LAKE first hit and have to say he's on my must-read list of authors. He writes about his characters with such a deft and gentle touch I'm almost convinced they're real. While readers who are only looking for the thrill of the mystery can pick up his books in any order and not suffer confusion, I recommend savoring them in order to get the full impact of the character development.

PURGATORY RIDGE is perhaps the most thriller-ish of Krueger's work to date, but still satisfies those looking for a puzzle to solve. He's one of the few authors I enjoy reading who is able to manage multiple points of view and can also sustain tension throughout a scene. Everyone comments about his wonderful setting and descriptive language, and you'll get no arguments from me. (Check out the SCUBA diving chapters if you have any doubts on either front - you'll be convinced.)

I'm looking forward to more of Krueger's writing. His success this far is impressive, but I think he's going to break away from the pack very soon.

Years ago, plot was the thing in mystery novels. Over the last several decades, authors have relied less on plot and more on character to carry their work. Two current authors who are especially proficient with character driven mysteries, but who also don't scrimp on the twists and turns, are Michael Connelly (see my review of A Darkness More than Night elsewhere) and William Kent Krueger.

William Kent Krueger's third Cork O'Connor book, Purgatory Ridge is set in Aurora a town in northern Minnesota not far from Lake Superior. Krueger's novel runs several plots simultaneously. But each is propelled more by their respective character's backgrounds and motivations, and less by finding a solution to a traditional mystery puzzle.

When an early morning explosion at a lumber mill kills a respected Anishinaabe tribal leader, the stage is set for confrontation over the logging of old-growth white pines. The trees are considered sacred by the Anishinaabe, but the townsfolk rely heavily on money from logging and environmental extremists have swarmed in to stop any logging at all.

Meanwhile, a man who is the sole survivor of a shipwreck on Lake Superior, obsessed with guilt over his brother's death in the same wreck, vows revenge on the family-run shipping line even if it leads to kidnapping and murder.

Into the mix is O'Connor, the former sheriff of Aurora, a man who, like Connelly's McCaleb, is beginning to realize how much he misses police work. He is encouraged by several prominent citizens to run again for office, but his wife, a prominent attorney, dreads the affect it would have on their fragile marriage.

Krueger's handling of his character's thoughts and motivations is deft and he never lets the tension of the subplots falter. O'Connor, his family, and especially the Anishinaabe people are appealing because they are delivered fully alive to the reader.

Mysteries are not my genre of choice. However, I am such a fan of Mr. Krueger. I so totally enjoyed Iron Lake. Couldn't wait for Boundary Waters. Thoroughly enjoyed Boundary Waters. Couldn't wait for Purgatory Ridge. Now, as usual, am left disappointed that this one, too, has ended and I have to wait again for his next book. His writing gets better and better. His characters get stronger and stronger. He is truly an intelligent writer with a knack for grabbing you from the beginning and not letting go. Every time I think I have figured out "who done it", he throws a wrench in the story and proves me totally wrong. His books are so much fun. They are well researched and he shares so much with his readers. Mr. Krueger is a joy to read.

"Purgatory Ridge" is one of those books that grabs you at the outset and doesn't let go till the end. And you won't be disappointed. Krueger writes a gripping novel, set along Minnesota's rugged shores of Lake Superior. Not only will you get a sound reading of the local environment, you'll also learn a lot about the modern Indian culture of the region. Krueger's characters are vividly drawn and he doesn't allow for too much nuance. The good guys are very good; the bad, very bad. The plot has a lot of twists and surprises, especially at the end. And for the most part, Krueger eschews serendipitous coincidences to move his plot forward. This is my first Krueger book and I found it surprisingly engaging and compelling.

Krueger is at the top of his game with the third of his Cork O'Connor series. Relationships, greed and revenge power this story of a timber war, Indian casinos, and marriages. O'Connor's marriage is three dimensional and the characters are real life adults. A fine read.