Red Knife

by William Kent Krueger

First published 2008

Buck Reinhardt's daughter dies from a meth overdose. The powerful businessman blames the Red Boyz, an Ojibwe gang he believes supplied the fatal drugs. Reinhardt wants revenge. When someone murders the gang's leader and his wife in execution style, the Red Boyz prepare to fight back. Tamarack County splits along racial lines as white and Native American residents choose sides. Both groups turn to Cork O'Connor, a former sheriff with mixed heritage, to find the real killer. Cork has kept his community safe before, sometimes through violence when necessary. He races to solve the murders before open warfare erupts. His investigation forces him into dark territory he hoped to avoid. The remote Minnesota landscape Cork calls home becomes a battleground. As bodies pile up, Cork faces a terrible reality about violence and its consequences.

Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, action

Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful

Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family

Setting: Minnesota, Ojibwe, Tamarack County

Period: 21st-century

320 pages · Hardcover · Atria Books

Content warnings: violence

More by William Kent Krueger

Readers who liked Red Knife also liked

View on Siftivo