"Apostle's Cove" | Reviewed by Pat Sainz

An unexpected nighttime call interrupts former Sheriff Cork O’Connor’s silent musings about his upcoming “significant” birthday. His son Stephen, a second-year law student working for the Innocence Project, informs Cork that he likely sent an innocent man to prison 25 years ago.

         When Cork was the sheriff of Tamarack County in Minnesota, he sent Axel Boshly to jail for the gruesome murder of his young wife. The discovery of Axel’s clothes in a shed, covered with Chastity’s blood, led to his arrest. The evidence against him seemed overwhelming. Axel, who was drunk at his arrest, had no memory of killing his unfaithful wife at the time. Days later, he confessed and cited details about the murder. He was sent to jail for life.

        When Stephen tells his father that Axel may be innocent, Cork reopens the investigation. Cork has always felt uneasy about the arrest and sentencing of Alex, and he is determined to find out what really happened.

        Cork’s investigation leads him to Apostle’s Cove, a small inlet near the town of Aurora where the O’Connors live. Aphrodite McGill built a massive house on the cove. Her home is famous for its wild parties where the use of drugs and other illicit activities occur with some frequency. Aphrodite also is the mother of Chastity, the murdered woman. Aphrodite and Chastity were notorious for their constant arguments. 

        Aphrodite has defied aging and has a reputation for “hosting” as least half of the men in town. It’s her connections that lead Cork to believe that she, or some of those associated with her, may have been involved with Chastity’s death. 

       Cork reopens his investigation with visits to Apostle’s Cove and with questions to those who frequent Aphrodite's home. The men he interviews are not sorry that Axel, a Native American, is rotting in jail for the rest of his life. Cork is not surprised by the hatred he encounters toward Native Americans who live on a reservation near Aurora. Throughout Cork’s long career as a sheriff he witnessed their prejudice and the ramifications of their aversion to the people on the reservation.

        The men with whom Cork talks resist his attempt to get to the truth of Axel’s conviction, but they are frightened enough to threaten Cork and his family. Cork’s young grandson, gifted with the power of foresight, feels the evil in the air and warns his family.

         “Apostle’s Cove” is the latest in the bestselling Cork O’Connor series. Readers familiar with the series’ characters will welcome a return to the lives of the O’Connor family and the citizens of Aurora. New readers will appreciate the background references to former events and persons that make this a readable stand-alone mystery.

       Themes of good versus evil, justice versus injustice, and of family love and support permeate William Kent Krueger’s most recent book and that of his previous books. The peaceful setting of beautiful Tamarack County in upper Minnesota belies the drama that keeps readers riveted.

         I have read many books in the Cork O’Connor mystery series and consider “Apostle’s Cove” a favorite. All the characters in the O’Connor series are worthy of their own stories. I hope Kruger continues his tales from Tamarack County for years to come.

        William Kent Krueger is the author of many books including two of my very favorites, “Tender Land” and “Ordinary Grace.”

            Buy the book.