Heaven's
Keep
A
Cork O'Connor Mystery
William Kent Krueger
Atria
(Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-4165-5676-1 (1416556761)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-5676-3 (9781416556763)
Publication Date: September 2009
List Price: $25.00
Synopsis (from
the publisher): When a charter plane carrying Cork O'Connor's wife, Jo,
goes missing in a snowstorm over the Wyoming Rockies, Cork must accept
the terrible truth that his wife is gone forever. But is she? In
Heaven's Keep, celebrated author William Kent Krueger puts his intrepid
hero through the most harrowing mission of his life.
Months after the tragedy, two women show up on Cork's doorstep with
evidence that the pilot of Jo's plane was not the man he claimed to be.
It may not be definitive proof, but it's a ray of light in the darkness
surrounding Cork's loss. Agreeing to investigate, he travels to
Wyoming, where he battles the interference of local law enforcement who
may be on the take, the open hostility of the Northern Arapaho, who
have much to lose if the truth is known, and the continuing attempts on
his life by assassins who shadow his every move.
At the center of all the danger and deception lies the possibility that
Jo's disappearance was not the end of her, that somewhere along the
labyrinthine path of his search, maybe even in the broad shadow of
Heaven's Keep itself, Cork will find her alive and waiting for him.
Review:
Cork O'Connor faces a personal tragedy when the plane on which his wife
is traveling is lost over the Rockies in Heaven's Keep,
the ninth mystery in this series by William Kent Krueger.
Jo O'Connor is on a charter flight to Seattle to attend the National
Conference of American Indians when the plane disappears during a
snowstorm over Wyoming. Cork and his son Stephen fly to the region to
assist in the search and recovery efforts but after six days, Cork is
forced to admit she may be dead. "Come on, Stephen," he says, "It's
time to go home." Several months later, however, the wife of the pilot
of the charter flight and her attorney contact Cork with evidence that
he may not have been flying the plane. But if not him, then who? Cork
reluctantly agrees to investigate, returning to Wyoming where he finds
himself in the middle of a political snowstorm involving Indian
affairs, mineral rights, casinos on reservations, and the tantalizing
possibility that his wife may still be alive.
Heaven's
Keep takes about 130 pages to
get started, but when it does, the story is captivating. The first part
relates Cork's search for Jo, and while heartbreaking in parts, it runs
on far too long. True, it provides a foundation for the second part of
the book, introducing characters and locations, but it could have been
tightened considerably. Once Cork gets into investigative mode,
however, the drama and suspense increase markedly. Consider this
passage just before Cork returns to Wyoming: "In the woods on either
side, the darkness was intense. But he knew those woods and knew what
there was in them to fear, and passing through empty-handed was no
concern. The darkness ahead, however, all that lurked within it and
that was unknown to him, this was something else. And he was afraid."
The plot takes a few welcome twists along the way, Cork is in fine form
following the often confusing, sometimes inexplicable clues presented
to him, and the book concludes in a poignant, but satisfying manner.
Slow start notwithstanding, Heaven's
Keep
is a solid thriller and one worth reading.
Special thanks to Authors on the Web for providing a copy of Heaven's Keep for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Heaven's Keep? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
Iron
Lake
Pocket (Hardcover), August 1998
ISBN-10: 0-671-01696-2 (0671016962)
ISBN-13: 978-0-671-01696-8 (9780671016968)
Boundary
Waters
Atria (Hardcover), May 1999
ISBN-10: 0-671-01698-9 (0671016989)
ISBN-13: 978-0-671-01698-2 (9780671016982)
Purgatory
Ridge
Atria (Hardcover), February 2001
ISBN-10: 0-671-04753-1 (0671047531)
ISBN-13: 978-0-671-04753-5 (9780671047535)
Blood
Hollow
Atria (Hardcover), February 2004
ISBN-10: 0-7434-4586-4 (0743445864)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7434-4586-3 (9780743445863)
Mercy
Falls
Atria (Hardcover), August 2005
ISBN-10: 0-7434-4588-0 (0743445880)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7434-4588-7 (9780743445887)
Copper
River
Atria (Hardcover), August 2006
ISBN-10: 0-7432-7840-2 (0743278402)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-7840-9 (9780743278409)
Thunder
Bay
Atria (Hardcover), July 2007
ISBN-10: 0-7432-7841-0 (0743278410)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-7841-6 (9780743278416)
Red
Knife
Atria (Hardcover), September 2008
ISBN-10: 1-4165-5674-5 (1416556745)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-5674-9 (9781416556749)
Heaven's Keep
Atria (Hardcover), September 2009
ISBN-10: 1-4165-5676-1 (1416556761)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-5676-3 (9781416556763)
Omnimystery
keywords for Heaven's Keep
...
Location(s) referenced: Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Wyoming..
