Customer Reviews

Vermilion Drift: A Novel

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is my first Cork O'Connor read - it is the 10th in a series - I'm a little late to the party - so I am reviewing it not in comparison to the others in the series, but as a stand on it's own mystery. Although there were times that I would have liked to have read the earlier books - especially the one before this one,"Heaven's Keep" which is apparently the one where he faces a personal tragedy, leaving Cork almost certainly a different man - I did not feel lost at any time during the read of this story. Author William Kent Krueger does a fine job of filling in details of the past while continually moving this intriguing mystery forward.

So Cork O'Connor,once the Sheriff of Tamarack County,Minnesota is now working on his own as a Private Investigator. He is hired to find the missing sister of a wealthy Iron Mine owner.The sister is a free spirit who often takes off when it pleases her and also is the owner of an Artist Colony at a sprawling estate that has seen some horrible crimes over the decades.The brother who has always taken care of his sister is more than a little worried this time. At the same time, the Department of Energy has decided that the iron mines might just be a good place to store Nuclear Waste. The inhabitants of the county - including Ojibwe Indians that live just outside the mine area - are up in arms. It's bad enough the mining is going on, raping the land, but now Nuclear waste in their back yard as well? Things get pretty heated and some very scary messages are being found that sound like they could be fatal threats to anyone invovled with this would-be disaster to the neighborhood. So Cork is doing double duty now, working on locating Lauren Cavanaugh and investigating the threats as well as providing some protection for the reciepients of them.

The story takes many twists and turns(a mystery lover's delight)as the disappearnce of Lauren has shades of "The Vanishings" - a more then 40 year-old unsolved case that had the county searching for missing Ojibwe girls. Cork, 12 at the time, flashes back on the case that his father as Sheriff worked on back then. But something's missing in his memory and he can't quite make the connection.

Cork is part Ojibwe himself and is also torn between his loyalties and beliefs, and working for the mine owner and the law. Working with the Sheriff's dept, but investigating on his own, his journey becomes a meld of two cultures.We as the reader get to follow him on his path of awakening to find the missing pieces of both the current crime he must solve and his past.

William Kent Krueger has wonderfully incorporated the mystique and culture of the Ojibwe people with dark secrets and a deadly mystery buried deep - both literally and figuratively. To be honest during the first part of the story I was thinking Joe Leaphorn meets Lucas Davenport,but Cork O'Connor is definitely his own man. The further I got into this book, the harder time I had putting it down.

Wonderfully colorful characters,a very likable leading man, detailed descriptions that put me right there in that dark and deep mine,an unpredictable,suspenseful heart pumping mystery(can't tell you how many times I guessed wrong),and a chance to spend some time with the Ojibwe People and learn some of their culture made for one captivating read.

Does it stand on it's own? - You Betcha! - But I know now that I will be spending some more time with Cork O'Conner - just think I have 9 more stories to catch up on!

5 stars for getting me hooked(happily) on another series-
"Migwech", Mr. Krueger.

Enjoy the read.....Laurie

also recommended:Beyond the Great Snow Mountains (Mass Market Paperback)

Former shefiff of Aurora, Minnesota, Cork O'Connor is hired to look for Lauren Cavanaugh by her brother, Max.

Max is the owner of the Great Northern Mining Company. The Vermilion Drift is one of their deepest mines. Now it is being considered as a dumping site for nuclear waste. Since this would have a major effect on the Ojibwe Indian reservation, many of the Native Americans feel that they are being sold out once again and there are heated protests about the possibility of using the mine in that manner.

After meeting with other mine officials, Max asks Cork to look at something in Vermilion One. They enter the mine and find a note spray pained on the wall, "We die, you die."

Since no one saw the person who did the spray painting enter the mine, Cork believes that there must be a second enterance. While he is searching for this, deep in the mine, he finds a room with six bodies. Five of the bodies have been there for many years but one has recently been placed there. This reminds Cork of The Vanishings.

In 1964, when Cork was a young teenager, two native American teenage girls vanished. Then a rich white woman also disappeared, this was Monique Cavanaugh, Lauren and Max's mother.

In a story deep with Indian folk lore, Cork speaks to his ancient friend, Henry Meloux. Despite advanced age, Henry is a wise man and can sense things. He tells Cork that he knows that things are stirred up on the res and tells Cork who to speak to in order to identify the other two bodies found in the mine.

It is interesting that Cork's father was the sheriff in Aurora when these events were happening and Cork faces a moral dilemma in considering if his father could have been involved.

As always with William Kent Krueger, there are details about the Ojibwe culture and beliefs. Cork is a well described and likable character who the reader will want to succeed in his quest. The story is told as if was pieces of a menu that is eventually laid out for the reader to learn and be entertained by the realistic and dramatic detail.

Very enjoyable story and would have been a five star but for some of the questions in the plot that were too conveniently answered.

Mining heir Max Cavanagh hires Tamarack County, Minnesota private investigator Cork O'Connor to find his missing sister, Lauren. She established an artists' retreat so Cork starts there. He also looks into who is threatening people involved in the Cavanagh Vermilion One mine that U.S. Department of Energy evaluates as a potential nuclear waste storage site.

Cork and a mine official descend into the Vermilion One mine where they find five skeletons and a fresh corpse. The quintet is probably the remains of the 1964 "the Vanishings" that Cork's father Liam as county sheriff unsuccessfully investigated. The sixth body buried in the mine for about a week is that of a well-dressed woman, who Cork assumes is Lauren.

The tenth Cork Minnesota investigative thriller (see Red Knife and Heaven's Keep) is a terrific whodunit as a homicidal cold case of the hero's father merges with a present day murder. The whodunit is well written hooking the readers early on with trying to find the connection between the deaths over four decades apart. With a bit of Native American mysticism enhancing the plot, fans will appreciate this strong regional mystery.

Harriet Klausner

While Krueger continues to be a writer's writer, this book was disappointing and I'm afraid doesn't bode well for the future of the series. With the loss of his wife and the leaving of his children, O'Connor has lost a lot of the texture that gave him depth. Now, he seems more like a two dimensional character and the story suffers from the lack of the family background. His interaction in previous books with his wife, his children and other characters lent a richness to the stories that is lacking in this one. I think in basically writing the entire family out of the story line, the author has left us with a so-so book telling a story that lacks some degree of credibility.

I know the author can't resurrect the wife but he can reintroduce Cork's children into the series and perhaps even a new love interest. If he can't return that sense of depth to the series, I for one will put this into a "library only" category.

First Sentence: Some nights, Corcoran O'Connor dreams his father's death.

Max Cavanagh owns several mines, one of which is being studied by the Department of Energy as a possible site to store nuclear waste. In addition to protests causing Cavanagh worry, his sister, Lauren, has gone missing. Cork, hired to find her, does so but she is not alone. He locates her body in, what had been a closed off section of the mine, among five skeletons. The five skeletons are those of women known as "The Vanishings" who had disappeared decades ago, and two of the bodies contain bullets fired from the gun of Cork's late father.

Recently, I was involved in a discussion of prologues and how many of us are either annoyed by them or ignore them completely. It takes a writer as skilled as Krueger to write a prologue which contains an important thread which runs through the story. This is not a prologue to ignore.

Krueger has become one of my favorite authors. His skill with description take what could be a fairly ordinary scene, but instead comes alive with clear, visual images. We are able to go where the author takes us and be a part of that which is described to us. Even from those scenes where we might prefer to look away, we can't. That doesn't mean he is graphically violent; he's not. It is more that we feel the emotion of the scene and, thereby, understand it.

Because I read first for character is another reason why Krueger's writing appeals to me. He creates dimensional, interesting, relatable characters. I'll admit I wasn't particularly happy with the events of the previous book, "Heaven's Keep," but the transition to this book has been very effectively and tastefully handled and I now understand the purpose of those events. Cork's heritage is half Irish, responsible for his impatience and occasional anger, and half Ojibwa, which connects him to the people on the reservation, Indian history, and my favorite character Henry Meloux. It also provides the link to the mystical element in each book.

Before you walk away saying "I don't like woo-woo," wait. Mysticism and the spirit world are part of the Indian culture. They are also part--along with several other themes including that of what do we really know of our parents and the definition of evil--of what takes this book, and this series, beyond the normal and elevates it into something that makes you stop, think and consider.

Krueger is a very fine author who knows how to create characters, write dialogue, set a scene and, most of all, develop a plot. The story continually builds upon itself. It's a twisty road filled complete with suspense, emotion and startling revelations. I despise the cliché of "If you've not read this author yet, read him now," yet that is the way I feel. Even if you don't, be assured I shall be reading his next book as soon as it comes out.

VERMILION DRIFT (PI-Cork O'Connor-Minnesota-Cont) - Ex
Krueger, William Kent - 10th in series
Atria, ©2010, ARC - Hardcover ISBN: 9781439153840

Kent Krueger's newest book in the Cork O'Connor series---Vermilion Drift---is one of those novels that bring out not just the love of a good mystery, but a searching for self message that all of us can relate to.

We see Cork in his element wanting to solve a mystery about some puzzling deaths, but it ends up bringing him full circle with his own demons that he has been grappling with.

Answers in life are not always easy to find or accept, but in order to move on,Cork has to attempt to do both.

This book was one I could relate to because in the middle of living our lives and trying to do our day-to-day duties, we find ourselves having to compartmentalize our personal issues so as to not let them get in the way. The problem with that is that if we leave them unchecked, they overwhelm us and keep us from doing anything else.

Kudos to Kent for another page-turner. He is definitely one of the best at what he does.

I recently saw a comment to the effect that Kent Krueger was the Michael Connelly of the Midwest. Every writer would be pleased to be compared with Michael Connelly, but I think the comparison is imprecise in this case. Kent Krueger is much more the James Lee Burke of the northwoods. His novels are haunting, filled with lush descriptions of flora and fauna and cognizant of local practices, traditions and beliefs. Where Burke writes of Creoles and Cajuns, Krueger writes of the Ojibwe. Like Burke, his stories are often anchored in the past, a past marked by violence, darkness and guilt. Nowhere is this more true than in Vermilion Drift.

Bodies are found in a vast iron mine, bodies linked to an event called the `Vanishings', some forty + years earlier. Among the remains of those who had vanished is a fresh corpse and the weapon of execution is Cork O'Connor's father's service revolver. Thus, the quest for the answers to past and present crimes forces Cork to examine his own past and his own involvement in the deaths. Henry Meloux is there to help Cork recover lost memories and Cork needs all the help that he can get, now that he has lost his beloved wife, Jo, his children are away, pursuing their own lives and all that he has for company is his dog, Trixie.

The atmospherics are wonderful, the setting made all the more poignant by the recent mining events in Chile. (Perfect timing, Kent.) All of Krueger's novels are of the highest quality and Vermilion Drift is no exception.

Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this book. I just recently toured the Soudan Mine near Tower Minnesota. I believe the 'Vermilion One' mine in this book is based on the Souden Mine. As usual Krueger has avery interesting plot with lots of twist. I think anyone who enjoys a good mystery will love this one.

Cork O'Conner has had some adventures in his life. None have come close to this one. The former sheriff turned private investigator is put on the case to find Lauren Cavanaugh, missing sister of millionaire mine owner Max Cavanaugh. Things get even more intense when threatening messages are left at the mine. Suspects are aplenty as the locals haven't been taking too kindly to the prospects of their Vermilion One mine being used to house nuclear waste. But would any of them kidnap Lauren?

Cork's search leads him to the mines...and he finds more than he ever wanted. What he finds in there opens up a forty year old cold case that has ties to Cork's father's days as sheriff, Cork's childhood, and his part-Ojibwe upbringing. Frustratingly, Henry Meloux, his mentor seems to know much more than he is telling. The case twists, turns, and whirls and dives deeper into Cork's past, rattling forty year old skeletons - literally and metaphorically. It all leads to a shocking finish.

Vermilion Drift is Cork O'Conner's tenth recorded adventure, although it's my first time reading of him. William Kent Krueger draws out his storyline well for a standalone novel. Though there was obviously a lot of previous information that could have been drawn on, and perhaps was, this first-time reader never got lost in the current story. The Ojibwe aspects of the story as true to life as the mysterious Henry Meloux quickly became my favorite character.

The novel hinges on suspense and does it well, expertly weaving twists and turns that were unexpected yet perfectly reasonable. Cork's own intimate ties with the case heighten the story, both in Cork and the reader's mind. In the end, the reader is left shook at what the raw power of evil can do.

Mysteries are not easy things to write. Authors tend to tell their readers too much, taking away the mystery and suspense, or tell them nothing at all, leaving them frustrated and confused. Vermilion Drift is the perfect mystery, telling readers just enough to remind them they know nothing. Much like Henry Meloux in the novel, Krueger knows more than he is telling and asks us if we are truly ready to discover the truth. Krueger may have passed unknown to me until now, but I'll be keeping an eye on his work from now on.

As a side note, the book does contain some strong language and sexual references. The language was infrequent and the references tastefully done and integral to the plot. Some sensitive readers may wish to pass because of this, but for those who enjoy a good mystery, this really is a great book.

In a perfect display of a not-unreasonable NIMBY mindset [Not In My Backyard}, most of the residents of Tamarack County, Minnesota and the surrounding Iron Lake area are up in arms, almost literally, when plans are announced to consider converting the long-closed [and fictional] Vermilion Mine to a nuclear waste site. In the midst of the protests arising out of this plan, Cork O'Connor is hired by Max Cavanaugh to find his sister. Max says she has been missing for a week. Describing her as "flamboyant" and "like sunshine if it had a voice," he begs Cork, former Tamarack County Sheriff [as was his father before him] and, now in his early 50's, working as a p.i., to find her. No ransom demand has been received, as might have been expected if it was a kidnapping - the family had founded the Great North Mining Company in 1887 and the name was synonymous with iron mining and wealth. But Lauren Cavanaugh was known to take off for distant places, both in the US and outside of the country, whenever the spirit moved her, complicating matters.

Cork's mind and heart, as the book opens, are still filled with grief over this wife's murder a little over a year before, as well as recent and pervasive nightmares regarding his father's death over forty years ago. When the investigation into the whereabouts of the missing woman leads to a shocking discovery, the ensuing events lead Cork right back to that exact time period. Coming as it does at a time when he is particularly vulnerable, with his beloved Jo dead and his 3 kids away from the nest, he thinks. "With Jo gone and the kids away, what held him to this place was history. And what was history but memory? And of what value, in the end, was a memory? A man's life needed to be made of stuff more immediate and substantial. Cork wondered what that was for him now." By the end of the novel, Cork and the reader find an answer to that enigma. The Indian culture [Cork is part Ojibwe], as always, is an integral part of this 10th entry in the series, as is the North Country itself, in all its endangered glory.

Highly recommended.