"You are who you always were. You have never been one thing. No human ever is. We are the lion and we are the lamb. We are the rock and we are the wind. We are the creator and we are the destroyer. You are no different."
-Henry Meloux's advice to Cork
God's Country is the 22nd novel in the Cork O'Connor series and I have read, and enjoyed, them all! I had anticipated this one so long, I actually bought it for Kindle because I would have been on a longggg waitlist for a library copy. Maybe the first eBook I've ever paid full price for.
In this installment of the series, Cork sets out on a family trip (just the men and boys) into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. After a short time, signs of violence are noted, and Cork sends the family members home to summon law enforcement. Knowing his long-time friend, Cordell Bishop, is leading this suspicious group, Cork feels he must be in danger and so sets out to find and hopefully rescue him.
He finds the Kennedy brothers have basically kidnapped Cordell and are trying to force him to help them find their late father's stash of something apparently quite valuable. It is a dangerous choice Cork makes when he decides he must help his friend. As he gets to know the brothers, he faces not just his own survival instinct but also inner turmoil about how to treat the captors. He can't help but think of something Henry has mentioned before, an Indigenous saying: "There are two wolves constantly battling in the human heart. One is love, the other hate. Which one wins the battle? The one you feed. Always the one you feed."
There are so many quotable passages in this book, it was hard to choose one, but I think I have started almost every Cork O'Connor blog post with wisdom from Henry Meloux. This time I included two. I am always in awe at Krueger's powers of description, making me wish I could see "God's country" in Minnesota, although not in the canoe trip he depicts in this novel!
Another thriller from this author, I rated it a 5 even though it wouldn't be among my favorites. This is the first in the series where I thought the end was a cliffhanger. Now we have to wait for book 23 to know how Cork handles his angst!
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