Spirit Crossing (Cork O'Connor Series #20)

by William Kent Krueger

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Cork O'Connor teams up with the Iron Lake Ojibwe Tribal Police in this atmospheric murder mystery interweaved with Indigenous lore.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

William Kent Krueger offers “one of his most puzzling mysteries to date” (Publishers Weekly) as a disappearance and a dead body put Cork O’Connor’s family in the crosshairs of a killer in the twentieth book in the New York Times bestselling series.

The disappearance of a local politician’s teenage daughter is major news in Minnesota. As a huge manhunt is launched to find her, Cork O’Connor’s grandson stumbles across the shallow grave of a young Ojibwe woman—but nobody seems that interested. Nobody, that is, except Cork and the newly formed Iron Lake Ojibwe Tribal Police.

As Cork and the tribal officers dig into the circumstances of this mysterious and grim discovery, they uncover a connection to the missing teenager. And soon, it’s clear that Cork’s grandson is in danger of being the killer’s next victim in this white-knuckled mystery from “a master storyteller at the top of his game” (Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982179243
Publisher:	Atria Books
Publication date:	08/20/2024
Series:	Cork O'Connor Series
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	51,590
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

William Kent Krueger is the New York Times bestselling author of The River We Remember, This Tender Land, Ordinary Grace (winner of the Edgar Award for best novel), and the original audio novella The Levee, as well as nineteen acclaimed books in the Cork O’Connor mystery series, including Lightning Strike and Fox Creek. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family. Learn more at WilliamKentKrueger.com.

Editorial Reviews

06/24/2024

In Krueger’s chilling latest case for half-Irish, half-Ojibwe PI Cork O’Connor (after Fox Creek), the former Minnesota sheriff gets involved in a murder investigation after his grandson discovers a shallow grave while picking blueberries. At first, police suspect the body may be that of Olivia Hamilton, the troubled teenage daughter of a state senator, who disappeared weeks earlier. A closer look, however, reveals it to be the corpse of an unidentified Indigenous woman, which causes the FBI and local police to lose interest. The case then lands with the recently established Iron Lake Ojibwe Tribal Police, with O’Connor pitching in. As he and his new colleagues interview members of the local Ojibwe community, O’Connor comes to suspect the body is that of Crystal Two Knives, who’s been missing for six months and whose case has been receiving much less public attention than Olivia’s. When Olivia’s body is also found, he begins to wonder if the two cases are connected. Krueger maintains an eerie tone throughout, folding subtle supernatural elements into one of his most puzzling mysteries to date. This long-running series still has plenty of gas in the tank. Agent: Danielle Egan-Miller, Brown & Miller Literary. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Spirit Crossing

“[Krueger's] prose and character development are superb, and his vivid descriptions bring Minnesota’s north woods to life.”
—Los Angeles Times

“[A] masterclass in suspense and atmospheric storytelling...One of the finest writers in the genre today, William Kent Kruger, skillfully weaves a hair-raising mystery while deftly and simultaneously touching on a number of important issues in a way that only he can seem to pull off.”
—The Real Book Spy

“Spirit Crossing is the 20th book in William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series and the books just keep getting better. Krueger. . . writes with an eloquence that makes his mysteries uplifting.”
—The Denver Post

“Krueger introduces an eclectic host of characters, lays out an immersive setting, and fleshes out a heartfelt mystery that will stay with readers long after the final page.”
—Minnesota Monthly

“Krueger maintains an eerie tone throughout, folding subtle supernatural elements into one of his most puzzling mysteries to date. This long-running series still has plenty of gas in the tank.”
—Publishers Weekly

Praise for Lightning Strike

“Lightning Strike explores the tender relationship between father and son. It is written with grace and understanding. It is a stunning novel that will captivate readers even if they’ve never read a Cork O’Connor mystery.” —Denver Post

"William Kent Krueger is a master storyteller at the top of his game with Lightning Strike. A pitch perfect, richly imagined story that is both an edge-of-your-seat thriller and an evocative, emotionally-charged coming of age tale that explores the complex bonds between fathers and sons and the long simmering animosities of the past. This is a beautifully written novel that packs a powerful punch. I loved it." —Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Four Winds

“Marvelous. I’ve long been a fan of William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series, and this essential novel allows us to witness how young Cork developed and matured. Not just a story of fathers and sons, it’s also a tale of Natives and settlers and how laws such as the Indian Relocation Act influenced both...A gripping, heartbreaking tale with beautiful writing, vividly drawn characters, and a story you won’t be able to put down." —David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Edgar and Anthony Award-nominated author of Winter Counts

"Lightning Strike is a brilliantly plotted, deeply emotional mystery that opens strong, building more intensity with each passing page. This is William Kent Krueger at his best, and the perfect spot for new readers to enter the series." —The Real Book Spy

"Poignant, powerful, and mesmerizing... Krueger skillfully blends big, suspenseful moments with quiet, keenly observed insights into human nature. This novel is rich with wisdom about right and wrong, choice and change, fathers and sons, and the ways in which loss can shape us as profoundly as love." —Amazon Book Review

Praise for Fox Creek

“This genuinely thrilling and atmospheric novel brims with characters who are easy to root for.”—The New York Times Book Review

“As usual in a Krueger novel, the prose is elegant, the landscape of Minnesota’s northeastern triangle is vividly portrayed, the character development is superb, and Henry’s Native American mysticism is treated with understanding and respect.” —The Washington Post

From the Publisher

Cork O'Connor's diverse heritage plays a pivotal role in the latest audiobook in this consistently engaging series. O'Connor, who has both Irish and Ojibwe lineage, uses his background to unravel the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of a local politician's teenage daughter and the grave of a young Ojibwe woman. David Chandler is an excellent choice as narrator. His use of subtle inflection contrasts effectively with the intensity he employs to depict the many characters who are indifferent toward the Ojibwe young woman and seek to prevent O'Connor from connecting the two cases. As the audiobook progresses towards its climax, so does Chandler's performance, culminating in a memorable narration. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2024 - AudioFile