I won this book in a contest on bookreporter.com and want to thank them for holding these contests.
To be fair to everyone, I have to mention that the two best books Ive read in the past year are Cutting For Stone and The Orphan Masters Son. Also. I started Tricksters Point the day I finished reading The Orphan Masters Son, so I did not find it full of the nail biting suspense mentioned on the jacket flap. Furthermore, even though I do watch some mysteries on TV, I dont usually read them, although I did read Defending Jacob and really enjoyed it.
The entire time I read Tricksters Point I kept seeing Sheriff Longmire from the TV show of the same name and wondered if Longmire was based on the Cork OConnor novels. Both single, middle aged men with grown daughters, present or past sheriffs, small towns on the edge of Indian Reservations, their friendship with one special Indian, animosity between some of the whites and Indians, etc. Just an awful lot of coincidences.
The writing in general is competent but nothing to make me re-read a paragraph because the wording grabbed me. Of course I realize this IS a mystery and they are usually read just for the story. Two things were unnecessarily mentioned twice - the mint green of her eyes and the negative effect mining might have on the lakes. As for general editing, cutting the book back to 300 pages would have helped make it a little more taut. We dont need to know that it was an American Express Gold card used for a purchase instead of a Visa card from some local bank. It is things like this that make me start scanning pages in a book.
One hundred pages before the ending I knew who had committed the two murders. I won't say why here because I don't want to spoil it for the reader.
Although this is a murder mystery, it is not full of gore or drunken ready-to-retire detectives and there are families in it, so I think it would appeal to women as well as men.
To be fair to everyone, I have to mention that the two best books Ive read in the past year are Cutting For Stone and The Orphan Masters Son. Also. I started Tricksters Point the day I finished reading The Orphan Masters Son, so I did not find it full of the nail biting suspense mentioned on the jacket flap. Furthermore, even though I do watch some mysteries on TV, I dont usually read them, although I did read Defending Jacob and really enjoyed it.
The entire time I read Tricksters Point I kept seeing Sheriff Longmire from the TV show of the same name and wondered if Longmire was based on the Cork OConnor novels. Both single, middle aged men with grown daughters, present or past sheriffs, small towns on the edge of Indian Reservations, their friendship with one special Indian, animosity between some of the whites and Indians, etc. Just an awful lot of coincidences.
The writing in general is competent but nothing to make me re-read a paragraph because the wording grabbed me. Of course I realize this IS a mystery and they are usually read just for the story. Two things were unnecessarily mentioned twice - the mint green of her eyes and the negative effect mining might have on the lakes. As for general editing, cutting the book back to 300 pages would have helped make it a little more taut. We dont need to know that it was an American Express Gold card used for a purchase instead of a Visa card from some local bank. It is things like this that make me start scanning pages in a book.
One hundred pages before the ending I knew who had committed the two murders. I won't say why here because I don't want to spoil it for the reader.
Although this is a murder mystery, it is not full of gore or drunken ready-to-retire detectives and there are families in it, so I think it would appeal to women as well as men.
I always enjoy William Kent Krueger's books about Cork O'Conner and the beautiful description of the Minnesota wilderness and the Native Americans that live there along with the white man. However, the story was long and boring at times. I did love the story of his childhood friend Jubal Little who dies in the first pages of the book, and you get to know this intriguing man with flashbacks. It's a shame this powerful,character was killed off! The mystery of who killed him was too drawn out and slow. The book just didn't do it for me.
I'll give this a rating for 'like it' although it was kind of a disappointment.
This book needs to be cut down by at least 30 pages to get rid of all the descriptions that just aren't necessary. It also gets tedious with the going back in the past then back to the present and this is throughout the entire book until I just got tired of it and started skimming pages to just move on with the present part of the story, after the first few times of going into the past of all these characters you get the drift of what was happening in the past but Krueger just dwells on it with story after story of the past and it just got boring to me since it didn't really have anything to do with the 'crime' of the present, but oh well, each will form there own opinion. Good Luck.
This book needs to be cut down by at least 30 pages to get rid of all the descriptions that just aren't necessary. It also gets tedious with the going back in the past then back to the present and this is throughout the entire book until I just got tired of it and started skimming pages to just move on with the present part of the story, after the first few times of going into the past of all these characters you get the drift of what was happening in the past but Krueger just dwells on it with story after story of the past and it just got boring to me since it didn't really have anything to do with the 'crime' of the present, but oh well, each will form there own opinion. Good Luck.
Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) -
Two high school friends who remained cordial over the years. One used to be the local sheriff, the other a former football star who appears to be destined to become the first Native American governor of Minnesota. They're out bow-hunting, but there's been a complication. The politician has an arrow in his heart that is killing him, and the arrow appears to belong to the sheriff.
In âTrickster's Pointâ, author William Kent Krueger successfully grounds us in the present while backtracking to the high school days of our lead characters. We know what has happened now, but we need to know what happened in the past in order to fully understand current events, and to determine who â and why â our murderer-in-progress is.
Of course, Mr. Krueger maintains the quality standard of writing that we've become accustomed to with his earlier novels in the Cork O'Connor series â plot, pacing, and characterization are all so well done as to draw in and grab the most jaded of mystery lovers. Up until the ending, an ending which THIS reader certainly didn't see coming.
William Kent Krueger is a talent that most other authors can only attempt to equal.
RATING: Five Stars
In âTrickster's Pointâ, author William Kent Krueger successfully grounds us in the present while backtracking to the high school days of our lead characters. We know what has happened now, but we need to know what happened in the past in order to fully understand current events, and to determine who â and why â our murderer-in-progress is.
Of course, Mr. Krueger maintains the quality standard of writing that we've become accustomed to with his earlier novels in the Cork O'Connor series â plot, pacing, and characterization are all so well done as to draw in and grab the most jaded of mystery lovers. Up until the ending, an ending which THIS reader certainly didn't see coming.
William Kent Krueger is a talent that most other authors can only attempt to equal.
RATING: Five Stars
Eadie B. (eadieburke) -
Another great story from an excellent storyteller. In this book we get a lot of background on Cork's teenage years and a lot of great research on the Indians of the area. The author gives us likable characters and a very descriptive setting. The complex plot is fast moving and keeps you guessing through many twists and turns right on through to the surprise ending. I am glad to see that the family is moving on from Jo's death and Cork has a new woman in his life. This is one of my favorite series and I am looking forward to reading the next installment. I would highly recommend this series to those who love mystery thrillers with a touch of Indian history. This series should also be read in order as the books build one upon the other.
Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) -
Two high school friends who remained cordial over the years. One used to be the local sheriff, the other a former football star who appears to be destined to become the first Native American governor of Minnesota. They're out bow-hunting, but there's been a complication. The politician has an arrow in his heart that is killing him, and the arrow appears to belong to the sheriff.
In âTrickster's Pointâ, author William Kent Krueger successfully grounds us in the present while backtracking to the high school days of our lead characters. We know what has happened now, but we need to know what happened in the past in order to fully understand current events, and to determine who â and why â our murderer-in-progress is.
Of course, Mr. Krueger maintains the quality standard of writing that we've become accustomed to with his earlier novels in the Cork O'Connor series â plot, pacing, and characterization are all so well done as to draw in and grab the most jaded of mystery lovers. Up until the ending, an ending which THIS reader certainly didn't see coming.
William Kent Krueger is a talent that most other authors can only attempt to equal.
RATING: Five Stars
In âTrickster's Pointâ, author William Kent Krueger successfully grounds us in the present while backtracking to the high school days of our lead characters. We know what has happened now, but we need to know what happened in the past in order to fully understand current events, and to determine who â and why â our murderer-in-progress is.
Of course, Mr. Krueger maintains the quality standard of writing that we've become accustomed to with his earlier novels in the Cork O'Connor series â plot, pacing, and characterization are all so well done as to draw in and grab the most jaded of mystery lovers. Up until the ending, an ending which THIS reader certainly didn't see coming.
William Kent Krueger is a talent that most other authors can only attempt to equal.
RATING: Five Stars
One of my favorite authors, William Kent Krueger, injects all the twists and turns of a good mystery! This one though I only rated a 3 out of 5, most of his books are flat out 5's, hands down. The only reason I rated this one a little lower, was at times it was harder to follow, as about every other chapter or so it seemed to go back in time setting the story between Cork O'Connor and his friend Jubal Little growing up. Still it didn't totally disappoint me, as usual I was baffled as to who committed the crime of murder. Krueger's characters are always rich, well developed, and diverse. I tell people if your going to start reading this amazing author start with the first in the series, as the groundwork is laid along the way to get to know Cork O'Connor and to love the colorful characters of Aurora, MN.
