Iron Lake

This novel, set in the cold lake country of northern Minnesota is the first of a series by William Kent Krueger that feature ex-sheriff Corcoran ("Cork") O'Connor. Cork is part Irish and part Anishinaabe Indian, which makes residents of the small town of Aurora and the Reservation not entirely sure whose side he is on. When the extremely powerful local ex-judge and major wheeler dealer Robert Parrant apparently takes his own life, Cork is suspicious of the verdict and decides to investigate for himself. He is warned by a local medicine man that the Windigo, a powerful and malevolent spirit, has called the names of local townspeople; Cork is concerned because he is one of those whose name is on the wind. People start dying and Cork is attacked, his home invaded. He is already struggling with a load of guilt about the disintegration of his marriage and his subsequent involvement with a local woman who has an unsavory reputation, Molly Nurmi. Cork breaks it off with Molly and asks his estranged wife to work toward reconciliation but she is adamant about a divorce. Contacted by a blackmailer, Cork soon learns that his wife was already involved with the  newly elected Senator, Sandy Parrant, son of the dead judge. As Cork digs deeper into the deaths, which the new sheriff is tidily explaining away as a case of corruption at the Indian casino, the number of people involved and the crimes concealed get more serious. This is a book with great local color, a bit of Native American lore, and a complex main character. Not an entirely happy ending, although the bad guys mostly get their due. Definitely worth a read and I may pursue some of the subsequent installments. Here is a review from Kirkus.