'Tamarack County'

Autumn is fast approaching, and with it comes a huge desire to dive into the season's best-and-brightest books.  It's almost time to snuggle on the sofa, covered by a handmade blanket, cup of tea nearby, with a clowder of cats vying for your attention.

So, it's important to read a story that totally takes you away from feline interruptions. For me, it was 'Tamarack County', the new novel in the Cork O'Connor series, and written by the always-wonderful William Kent Krueger.

During a harsh Winter in Tamarack County, Minnesota, Cork O'Connor, former sheriff and now a private investigator, is called in to help solve the mystery of a missing woman who is married to a retired judge. When the beloved pet dog of a friend is found brutally killed, Cork begins to see a pattern.  At the center is a murder from twenty years ago, for which an innocent man may have been convicted. Someone is spinning a deadly web in Tamarack County, and it seems no one is safe...not even Cork's family and friends.

The premise of this story is not unique, but the way Krueger presents it makes it special.  He has a real talent for creating a family unit that is at once close, yet full of secrets.  The reader cares about this family; Cork questions his relationship with a woman who has left to care for a member of her family.  Stephen, his son, is involved with a young local woman.  Jenny, his daughter, is a devoted mother, but it is Anne, the eldest child, who solicits the most interest.  She is questioning her religious calling, and comes back home to find some answers.  

'Tamarack County' is a quick read, but one that will stay with you.  The surprises are many, although I did manage to figure out one in particular. 

I, for one, can't wait for the next Cork O'Connor mystery as I try to keep the clowder off my books...

...and out of my tea cup.


'Tamarack County' can be found in independent bookstores and your local library.  Published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.