I suppose W. K. Krueger is very capable of capturing the wilderness of Aurora, Minnesota, also, the culture of the Anishinaade Indians. I say I suppose because I’ve never been in Aurora and I know very little of Indian cultures, but I do can, in some way, picture what the author describes and I find myself liking a place I’ve only seen on movies.
W. K. Krueger do is so well he even makes me like winters, which I hate not for the snow or the cold but for its darkness.
But beyond that “Boundary Waters” is just a so-so mystery. Beyond that, the very human and honest former sheriff Cork O'Connor is a bit boring. When I read the first book in the series, “Iron Lake”, I though he was an interesting character though not in the league of Charlie Parker or Arkady Renko, but I had hopes that he would become more alive during the second book.
Cork O'Connor does very little of investigation, that throws me off. A lot! I can imagine why W. K. Krueger has in some way been in the spotlights when it comes to crime fiction. The two books I’ve read are very human and they try in some way to give an insight of how a very unlucky minority sees our civilization, or maybe I should say, the American way of life. The whiteman. But as a crime fiction/mystery book I believe the writer has a bit to learn in order to reach the talent of Dennis Lehane, Robert Wilson, John Connolly or Martin Cruz Smith.

I really hope the next book brings the same beautiful descriptions of the landscapes of Aurora and the same feelings when it comes to the Anishinaade culture, but I also hope he plots the book in a way that I don’t feel like I’m reading a Scooby Doo sort of mystery.

Cheers
Cristian

Betyg 3