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    Red Knife
    Red Knife
    Red Knife
    Audiobook10 hours

    Red Knife

    Written by William Kent Krueger

    Narrated by David Chandler

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Private investigator Cork O'Connor finds himself caught in the middle of a racial gang war that's turning picturesque Tamarack County, Minnesota, into a battlefield. When the daughter of a powerful businessman dies as a result of her meth addiction, her father, strong-willed and brutal Buck Reinhardt, vows revenge. His target is the Red Boyz, a gang of Ojibwe youths accused of supplying the girl's fatal drug dose. When the head of the Red Boyz and his wife are murdered in a way that suggests execution, the Ojibwe gang mobilizes, and the citizens of Tamarack County brace themselves for war, white against red. Both sides look to Cork O'Connor, a man of mixed heritage, to uncover the truth behind the murders. A former sheriff, Cork has lived, fought, and nearly died to keep the small-town streets and his family safe from harm. He knows that violence is never a virtue, but he believes that it's sometimes a necessary response to the evil that men do. Racing to find answers before the bloodshed spreads, Cork himself becomes involved in the darkest of deeds. As the unspeakable unfolds in the remote and beautiful place he calls home, Cork is forced to confront the horrific truth: violence is a beast that cannot be contained. In Red Knife, Krueger gives his readers a vivid picture of racial conflict in small-town America, as well as a sensitive look at the secrets we keep from even those closest to us and the destructive nature of all that is left unsaid between fathers and sons, husbands and wives, friends and lovers.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateOct 1, 2019
    ISBN9781980034988
    Red Knife
    Author

    William Kent Krueger

    William Kent Krueger is the New York Times bestselling author of The River We Remember, This Tender Land, Ordinary Grace (winner of the Edgar Award for best novel), and the original audio novella The Levee, as well as nineteen acclaimed books in the Cork O’Connor mystery series, including Lightning Strike and Fox Creek. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family. Learn more at WilliamKentKrueger.com.

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    Reviews for Red Knife

    4/5

    243 ratings17 reviews

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    • 4/5
      like all of them--suspense and humanity. Great and meaningful story
    • 4/5
      A good read. Slow in spots but Krueger is a great story teller.
    • 4/5
      This series addresses many issues…racism, bullying, drugs and gangs…and does it in a tasteful and sensitive manner. Some parts are heart breaking and some make you smile. This particular book snuck in gun control…will be interesting to see how future stories handle guns seeing as how the stories are based in ‘hunting’ country.
    • 5/5
      Good story…touching friendships & love between family members but sad
    • 4/5
      Good read covers many characters and situations that all conclude are the end
    • 4/5
      I like this character, Cork O'Connor. A former law officerr, he now runs a hamburger joint and works part time as a private investigator. As he struggles to balance home life with a wife and children, he also struggles with being part white and part Ojibwe and at times finds himself conflicted by this twin cultural heritage. It makes for interesting plot interactions. In this edition he is investigating the death of two prominent reservation leaders and trying to stave off a conflict between white and Native Americans. All the while trying to help his daughter through crisis and discover who is behind multiple murders that all seem to be tied together. The plot is well done with several side plots that help keep the story moving. Krueger always has great characters and this one is no exception. This has been a great series to this point and the books continue to keep me coming back for more.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this installment. Racial tensions between the reservation and the town are growing, and Cork is caught in between. A school shooting impacts Annie, and the community.
    • 5/5
      Shootings by crazy teenagers have become too much a part of the world that we inhabit. It may be a fact of life but it drags at me to see it show up in a story. It is told quite effectively. Krueger’s books are at one level all about the complex dynamics of interpersonal relationships. He expresses those conflicts clearly and engagingly. I a glad to have discovered his books and will keep at them. Many of the usual cast of characters as well as some new participants show up. The complex dynamic between Indian/native American remains central to the story and to my ear is carried off very well.
    • 4/5
      The books by William Kent Krueger comprising the Cork O'Connor Series are full of beautiful descriptions of the land, informative history about the traditions, conditions and life of the Ojibwe/Anishinaabe Native Americans, recurrent characters and some criminality. As with most series some books resonate more loudly than others. Red Knife was a "wobble" for me. It contained all the things I enjoy about the series but the twists and turns were a bit off. The darkness truly descended with the denouement.
    • 5/5
      One of the best in the series. The character of the younger daughter Annie is revealed and she proves to be an amazing young woman. I liked the moral ambiguity of understanding that there are times when something bad has to be done for something good to happen.
    • 3/5
      Although I enjoyed this book as I usually do Krueger's books, it didn't seem quite so good as some of his others. The murder plot seemed to be resolved without any suspense and little action, which confused me until the end scene of the book. I kind of wish the author had included this as a completely separate story idea more fully expanded in a separate book. Still, Krueger is one of my favorite crime fiction authors, and that won't be changing any time soon.
    • 4/5
      Difficult to get into the book, although it started with a lot of action. Had trouble following who was who. Many characters had several names for same person. Perseverance paid off as the setting helped plant the people in their character's role.

      Good who-done-it, with many side plots and twists that didn't give the obvious solution.

      Presented family values that tied into plot.

      Krueger's chapter endings always left one to think.

      Did great job at solving all loose ends and side problems without hurrying to complete it, but certainly not dragging it out.


    • 2/5
      Deciding upon a rating for this book gave me pause. I did not enjoy the first 3/4 of this book, and had to force myself to slog through it -- a first for a WKK novel. On the other hand, the final few scenes were perhaps the most powerful WKK has written.

      As he did with the last Cork O'Connor novel, WKK again digs into his bag of literary tricks. At one point he switches from past tense -- the standard for Cork O'Connor novels -- to present tense. My initial reaction to this change was to shrug it off as a silly gimmick. As I continued to turn the pages, however, I recognized that WKK's choice in this regard truly served to leave a powerful impression with his readers -- this reader included. It was a memorable scene that I won't soon forget.

      That said, I can't forgive this book for the snore-inducing events that led to the grand finale, especially given that the final scene is only loosely connected to story's primary thread.
    • 4/5
      Another good entry in an excellent series. As the man in the middle, Cork continues to resolve problems that involve "the People"
    • 4/5
      A murder mystery with lots more going on, this book deals with family, loyalty, violence, alienation, and race, all while being a page-turner.
    • 4/5
      This is another in the series telling of the life of Cork O'Conner and those in his family and community. The story deals with many issues that face us in everyday life: drugs, gangs, tentions among the citizens and family relationships. Krueger has a way of drawing the reader into the story with the mysteries of the story and the lore of the Indian way of life. I did not think this was as good as his other books that I have read, but still it was well worth reading.
    • 2/5
      Another installment of the Cork O'Connor series involving local issues relating to gang violence, drug dealing and local tensions. This was by far my least favorite of the Cork O'Connor series, I only stuck with it simply because I had read all of the others and wanted to continue. I became bored with Krueger's writing, trying to make Cork seem like an every-man while doing such outlandish and excellent crime fighting. Simple references to Cork scratching himself after taking a run and the like were not necessary. The book was interesting to read about the tensions of local tribes and gang violence, but Cork just didn't do it for me. I'm not sure if I will continue with the series or not - I was slightly disappointed.