P.I.

The rest of the novel - Rose is actually a sidebar - concerns the disappearance of a young woman in the dead of winter. Krueger opens the book with one of his trademark, incredibly beautifully written scenes with Cork alone in the woods on his snowmobile, looking for her. To describe it much more would be almost to ruin it - it has to be read to be enjoyed. When the girl's disappearance becomes tied to Solemn Winter Moon, a young native American man Cork feels practically related to, Cork agrees to help out, and somehow, his wife Jo becomes Solemn's lawyer when things take a more serious turn. All of the abovementioned scenarios could constitute a complete and satisfying novel - but Krueger adds the twist of spirituality, and it's not in a proselytizing way - in fact, it's almost the opposite. When Solemn claims to have talked with Jesus in the woods (and Jesus is wearing Minnetonka moccasins) Cork is appalled, but it seems to him at the same time that Solemn is a more serious and peaceful man afterwards. This touches off a series of troubling spiritual examinations for Cork, who feels the Church has abandoned him. As half native American, half Irish, he feels betwixt and between, and while this book takes him further on his path, you feel there's more to tell.

The novel unfolds in a chronological fashion that seems to mirror reality more closely than a fast paced discovery of a body and resolution of a crime. Starting in winter, the book runs its natural course through autumn. Krueger has some of the same storytelling rhythms that Tony Hillerman has - it's a slow build, and once you're hooked, you can't stop reading. Like Joe Leaphorn, Cork is a character for the mystery hall of fame, and I look forward to reading more about him almost as much as I enjoyed reading Blood Hollow.