William Kent Krueger - Boundary Waters

The sale of this book without its cover is unauthorized. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that it was reported to the publisher as unsold and destroyed. Neither the author nor the publisher has received payment for the sale of this stripped book.

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Dont miss WILLIAM KENT KRUEGERS award-winning Cork OConnor series

PURGATORY RIDGE

Winner, Minnesota Book Award

BOUNDARY WATERS

Nominated for the Minnesota Book Award and the Dilys Award

IRON LAKE

Winner, Loft-McKnight Fiction Award

Winner, Anthony Award for Best First Novel

Winner, Barry Award

Winner, The Friends of American Writers Prize

Winner, Minnesota Book Award

Available from Pocket Books

Margaret Coel, author of The Ghost Walker Cork OConnor is the kind of character that will haunt your imagination long after the story ends.

PRAISE FOR WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER AND BOUNDARY WATERS

Publishers Weekly Krueger follows up his sure-handed debut with an equally effective second thriller featuring former Chicago cop, now former local sheriff Cork OConnor and his adventures in the warm-spirited little town of Aurora, Minnesota. Kruegers writing [is] strong and bold yet [has] the mature mark of restraint.

City Pages (Minneapolis) Page-turning. Any reader with an affection for the Northwoods will appreciate Kruegers vivid imagery, which blends Indian culture and lore, backwoods adventuring, fish-out-of-water outsiders, and hearty locals whose yokel quotient is kept refreshingly in check.

The Midwest Book Review The return of Cork OConnor should elate fans of Native American mysteries. BOUNDARY WATERS will remind readers of The Treasure of Sierra Madre, except placed in the icy north. Avarice, violence, and survival rule the action-packed story line that requires gloves because the bitter cold can be felt emanating from the pages. Cork remains a fine character as he struggles with his feelings for his estranged spouse, and the recurring support cast add local color and depth to the plot. The remaining players propel the tale forward to its climactic clash. Krueger is quickly attaining star status with his OConnor series.

Murder By the Bye, Mysterious News from Murder by the Book (Portland, OR) Both Iron Lake and BOUNDARY WATERS are atmospheric, explore issues of tribal and town culture, and are rich in characterization.

Kirkus Reviews Cork remains a sprightly, intriguing hero in a world of wolves, portages, heavy weather, and worrisome humans.

PRAISE FOR IRON LAKE, WILLIAM KENT KRUEGERS FIRST CORK OCONNOR MYSTERY

Booklist (starred review) Kruegers debut offers wonderful characters realistic details and political deals do not slow a tense, fast pace punctuated with humor and surprise in a book that is sure to appeal to fans of Nevada Barr and Tony Hillerman.

Jeremiah Healy, Shamus Award-winning author of The Only Good Lawyer and Spiral As deep and wonderful as the Minnesota forest from which the story springs even the most minor characters are fullyalmost perfectlydrawn.

David Housewright, Edgar Award-winning author of Penance and Dearly Departed An explosive brew. A truly remarkable first novel; read it with someone watching your back.

Kirkus Reviews Minnesotan Krueger has a sense of place hes plainly honed firsthand in below-zero prairie. His characters, too, sport charm and dimension. This first-timers stamina and self-assurance suggest that OConnors got staying power.

Publishers Weekly (starred review) A fresh take. Krueger makes Cork a real person. And the authors deft eye for the details of everyday life brings the town and its peculiar problems to vivid life.

Stephen Greenleaf, author of Past TenseIron Lake is as powerful as a Minnesota blizzard.

Margaret Coel, author of The Ghost Walker Cork OConnor is the kind of character that will haunt your imagination long after the story ends.

Books by William Kent Krueger

Iron Lake

Boundary Waters

Purgatory Ridge

The Devils Bed

Available from POCKET BOOKS

WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER

BOUNDARY WATERS

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The sale of this book without its cover is unauthorized. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that it was reported to the publisher as unsold and destroyed. Neither the author nor the publisher has received payment for the sale of this stripped book.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
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WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER

POCKET BOOKS
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Copyright 1999 by William Kent Krueger

Originally published in hardcover in 1999 by Pocket Books

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

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ISBN: 0-671-01699-7

eISBN-13: 978-1-439-12001-9

ISBN-13: 978-0-671-01698-2

First Pocket Books paperback printing July 2000

10 9 8 7

POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Front cover illustration Robert Winslow/Natural Selection

Printed in the U.S.A.

QB /

For Diane, a promise kept; and for my parents, Marilynne and Krueg, who taught me not to be afraid to adventure or to love.

My thanks first and foremost to the Anishinaabeg. In this book, I have relied heavily on their rich storytelling tradition, if not the stories themselves. The Iron Lake Band of Ojibwe is not real. However, I hope that the spirit with which I rendered these people captures respectfully the courage and integrity of the real Anishinaabeg.

As always, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the members of the mystery writing group that calls itself Crme de la Crime: Carl Brookins, Julie Fasciana, Betty James, Michael Kac, Joan Loshek, Jean Miriam Paul, Betsey Rhame, Susan Runholt, and Anne B. Webb. Without their suggestions and their blessing, this book would not be.

In the course of writing this manuscript, I had the very good fortune of stumbling on Steve Masten, an attorney for the state of Minnesota, whose client is the Department of Natural Resources. Ive never known anyone more knowledgeable in the ways of the wilderness. From knife blades to ballistics, from wolves to the watershed of the Boundary Waters, he has been generous with his expertise. His editorial comments hit the bulls-eye every time. Up to Green River, Steve. And thanks.