4 stars out of 5
It's always a treat to open a book knowing you're going to enjoy it - one of the hallmarks of an excellent series. For me, this is a perfect example. I've loved watching the main character, Cork O'Connor, as he's grown old enough to be married twice and have a grandson. And I love reading about his Native American roots and "meeting" characters who live and work on the reservation in Tamarack County, Minnesota.
This story begins as Cork's son, Stephen, calls his father. Stephen, who's in law school and helping prison inmates who believe they've been wrongly convicted, is working with an inmate named Axel Boshey. Cork gets the call for a simple reason: two decades ago, Cork was the county sheriff and the official most directly responsible for putting the man behind bars. Needless to say, Cork is crushed, so he vows to review the investigation that happened back then to see what, if anything, went wrong.
He hits his first major snag, though, with Axel himself; the man, who was shall we say impaired back when he was arrested and really didn't remember whether he killed his wife or not, still isn't totally sure he didn't. More to the point, he's now carved out a niche in prison helping other inmates and, after all these years, isn't much interested in being sprung. Compounding that is the fact that just about everyone Cork tries to speak with who were around at the time are downright adament about not speaking again - and some are openly hostile. So how on earth can he find out what really happened?
A big chunk of the book revisits Cork's initial investigation, when his first wife, Jo, was the attorney representing Axel. Then it returns to the present, focusing on his attempts to make things right with the help of his lovable grandson Aaron, better known as Waaboo, and Ojibwe Mide healer Henry Meloux.
More details, though, I'll just have to leave for others to read about, but suffice it to say it's another winner in my book. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to once again catch up with some of my favorite book characters (and, of course, a favorite author).
Apostle's Cove by William Kent Krueger (Atria Books, August 2025); 336 pp.
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