Valerie (valerieh) reviewed on 8/18/2015

Windigo Island by William Kent Krueger. This is the first Krueger book I have read, but it will not be the last. Set in Duluth and the Iron Range Native American reservation communities, the book explores teenage hopelessness and prostitution in a way that reveals much about how family, community, and spirituality impacts our options in life. The book slowly peals back the layers of these interconnected characters, showing us the soulnessness of the windigo-like pimps, the ruthless cluelessness of the sex purchasers, and the fear and despair of the young girls caught up in the trade. But it also show the power of family and community in what reads like a mix between a police procedural and private detective hybrid. The lead characters, Cork O'Connor and his daughter are shown with all their compassion, foibles, and struggles balancing beautiful against the despair and broken families of the lost girls. The power of Lake Superior and the northern Minnesota lifestyle is brilliant portrayed bringing great depth to this inspiring and hopeful book. This is a must read.

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