Meanwhile, another local finds reason to believe that the Lake Superior shipwreck that took his only brother's life was not an accident of the weather after all. It turns out the freighter resting at the bottom of the big lake and the local timber baron have a connection. The suspense becomes almost excruciating, and I was still being surprised in the book's final pages. He doesn't seem to have any agenda other than telling a good story. Everyone's actions ring true in the larger contexts of their lives.
Personal lives run into professional lives and vice versa.
The majority of the action in Purgatory Ridge takes place outside and so geography and climate function almost like characters. There are a few moments towards the novel's end where the plot twists become just a little too hard to believe, but after reading the last page I wanted to turn immediately to another Cork O'Connor mystery. I plan to begin Iron Lake as soon as I finish this column. Krueger signs books at Aunt Agatha's on the 22nd, along with fellow Minnesotans Ellen Hart and Deborah Woodworth. She is touring to promote Merchant of Venus, the 10th in her award-winning Jane Lawless series.