Spirit Crossing

Well I jumped into this book in William Kent Krueger's "Cork O'Connor" series and sort of wished I hadn't. So much has transpired between his first in the series, Iron Lake, which I just reread, and this his 20th installement: the kids are all grown, Jenny is married, Stevie is getting married, and Annie is back from charity work in Guatamala with a new life partner; Cork's wife Jo is no longer in the picture--unspecified why-- and has been replaced by Rainy; there's another new sheriff, etc. I found it distracting, although the writing is still excellent and the plotting tight and engaging. A local politician's daughter has gone missing and a major search effort is mounted--unlike the past responses, or lack thereof when local indigenous teens were reported missing. In the process, the body of a young native woman is found buried in a shallow grave, largely to the psychic insights of Jenny's 7-year-old adopted Native American son, Waaboo. He will play a major role in further discoveries and there is significant focus on the lack of credibility given to Native American belief systems. Also there is ongoing discussion of the inequities in the valuation of life when it comes to Native American missing persons. Somebody definitely believes in Waaboo's abilities, however, and is trying to silence him permanently, making Waaboo and the entire O'Connor clan the targets of a ruthless killer. 

Publishers Weekly calls this book "chilling" and "one of his [Krueger's] most puzzling mysteries to date." Although I've seen some reactions criticizing the book for its emphasis on the supernatural elements of Native American beliefs, I find this a fascinating part of this series. AP News says "Krueger has no Native American blood himself, but as usual he treats native culture and mysticism with understanding and respect. His prose and character development are superb, and his vivid descriptions bring Minnesota’s north woods to life."