GRAND RAPIDS — I was like a lot of little kids who read; I adored the Nancy Drew mystery series.
Before Nancy and Bess and Ned Nickerson, it was the Boxcar Children mysteries. I read other fiction as well, but I always came back to mysteries. Something about the formula, a guaranteed resolution of some sort, and feeling a need to become an amateur sleuth myself.
I’m not that different as an adult. I read voraciously, and it’s my stress reliever. I like to pretend I’m still an amateur sleuth, solving crimes on the side of my radio gig. I don’t stick to only mysteries, but when a new book by Louise Penny or Jacquelyn Winspear comes out, I have to read it.
William Kent Krueger’s award-winning series of books (yes, I’ve read every single one of them) set in Northern Minnesota and featuring protagonist Cork O’Connor might just be my favorite.
Why?
It’s set where I live. It tells stories I didn’t know about where I live. It’s a mystery that goes beyond the "whodunnit" and is character-driven. And, I just love Cork and his family. The main character is the former sheriff of Tamarack County and a man of mixed heritage — part Irish and part Ojibwe
Krueger’s new book in the series is Spirit Crossing. He told us about it recently on the KAXE Morning Show.
“At the heart of it is the whole question and concern about MMIP, Murdered and Missing Indigenous people," he said.
The statistics are what drew him to diving into this topic.
“The murder rate for Indigenous women and girls is 10 times higher than that of any other ethnicity,” Krueger said. “The Bureau of Indian Affairs estimates that there are 4,200 missing and murdered cases that are still unresolved.”
With insistence from sources that work in tribal police in Northern Minnesota, Krueger wanted to get into what he called “complicated jurisdictional issues.”
The writing journey
Spirit Crossing is the 20th book in the series, and Krueger said that while he knew from the beginning he wanted to set his work in the fictional town of Aurora.
“I realized you can’t write a true story set in Northern Minnesota without including the Ojibwe, the Anishinaabeg, as an element of the work, because their influence up north is ubiquitous. It’s everywhere and it’s powerful.”
He admitted he didn’t know much in the beginning. “I knew about what every white person knows about Native people we live shoulder to shoulder with. Nothing.”
As a cultural anthropologist, he began to learn by reading but soon realized it wasn’t enough and began developing relationships. “I rely on my Ojibwe friends for their advice, their counsel, their perceptions, their sensibilities, their suggestions.”
His research and attention to detail has paid off. His last 13 novels were all New York Times bestsellers.
Book tour in Northern Minnesota
Krueger will be at independent bookstores in Northern Minnesota this week. Visits include:
- Detroit Lakes: 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 16 at Bluebird Books
- Park Rapids: 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 16 at the Event Room through Beagle and Wolf Books and Bindery
- Bemidji: 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17 at Four Pines Bookstore
- Grand Rapids: 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17 Minnesota North College-Itasca through Wildflower Books
- Nisswa: 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17 at Turtle Town Books & Gifts.
Find more information on Krueger’s books and events here.
You can also check out our other conversations about books with the What We're Reading podcast, hosted by KAXE Staff Librarian Tammy Bobrowsky.
What are you reading? Like a good mystery? Let us know!
