Review of "Spirit Crossing: A Cork O'Connor Mystery" by William Kent Krueger

 

In this 20th book in the long-running 'Cork O'Connor' series, Cork helps investigate when local women go missing. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a bonus.

Background: Cork O'Connor, whose ancestry is Irish and Anishinaabe Indian, was the sheriff of Tamarack County, Minnesota for ten years. Afterwards, Cork became a private investigator.....



.....and he also runs a hamburger shack called 'Sam's Place' in his hometown of Aurora, Minnesota. Over the years, Sam's Shack provided jobs for many teens in the area, including the O'Connor youngsters.



Cork and his first wife Jo had three children named Jenny, Annie, and Stephen. Later, after Cork became a widower, he married Rainy Bisonette.



Rainy is an Ojibwe Indian and the great-niece of Cork's best friend Henry Meloux - an elderly Mide (medicine man) and spiritual guide.



*****

As the novel opens, Cork is almost sixty, and his grown children have embarked on their individual lives and careers.



At the moment though, the entire family is gathered in Aurora for law student Stephen O'Connor's upcoming wedding to his fiancée Belle.



Environmentalist Jenny O'Connor lives in the area with her husband Daniel English (an Ojibwe tribal police officer) and their 7-year-old adopted son Waaboo - whom Jenny found hidden under a rock when he was an infant.



Annie O'Connor and her romantic partner Maria Lopez have flown in from Guatemala, where they do social work in impoverished Mayan communities.



As the O'Connor family gathers for the auspicious occasion, two young women are missing from Tamarack County: Olivia Hamilton, the teenage daughter of a wealthy, influential state senator; and Crystal Two Knives - a young Ojibwe woman. The search for Olivia is in high gear, but the authorities show little concern for Crystal, and consider her a runaway.



Things take a turn when Cork, his son Stephen, son-in-law Daniel, and grandson Waaboo go blueberry picking. Cork takes the little group to a 'secret' blueberry patch on the unoccupied property of a deceased recluse called Erno Paavola. At the blueberry patch, Cork notices little Waaboo kneeling on the ground beside his bucket, staring straight ahead, with his lips moving as if he's talking to someone. Waaboo say's he's speaking to 'a lady who's lost and sad.'



It turns out Waaboo has found a shallow grave, and since it might be the burial site of the state senator's missing daughter Olivia, mulitple law enforcement agencies - including the FBI, Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Minnesota State Police - rush to the area.

Meanwhile, Waaboo's family takes the child to Mide Henry Meloux, who acknowledges Waaboo's spiritual abilities, and who intuits the body in the blueberry patch is an Indian woman.



When this turns out to be true, all investigators other than Indian police and Tamarack County Sheriff Marsha Dross lose interest in the case and leave.

The entire incident causes BIG trouble because journalists hear rumors about Waaboo 'talking to ghosts' and the story spreads. The perpetrator(s) who buried the Indian woman in the blueberry patch fear Waaboo will expose them, and set out to kill the little boy.



In the interim, Cork teams up with Sheriff Marsha Dross to investigate the Indian woman's murder.



This includes searching deceased Erno Paavola's cabin and grounds, and interviewing Paavola's heirs, who (presumably) own the property now.

The case gets very complicated, and that's all I can say without spoilers.

In the meantime, there's more going on in Tamarack County. The Stockbridge oil pipeline is being laid in the area, and environmental groups are staging demonstrations near the site.



Siblings Stephen and Annie O'Connor join the protestors, and run afoul of a vicious private security officer named Adrian Lewis. As things play out, Lewis loses his job and blames Annie, whom he proceeds to follow and harass. This is especially difficult for Annie, who's already dealing with personal problems.



There's danger, action, and adventure as the story rolls on, and as always, the extended O'Connor family and their friends come together for the challenges and celebrations.



I found the novel's convoluted storyline and large cast of characters a little confusing, but I enjoyed the book and recommend it to mystery fans.

Rating: 3.5 stars 

Review of "The Mounains We Call Home: The Book Woman's Legacy" by Kim Michele Richardson

The 'Mountains We Call Home' is a standalone novel that's tangential to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and The Book Woman's Daughter. The novels are inspired by the 'Kentucky Blue People' and the 'Pack Horse Librarians' of the Appalachian Mountains.




Photo (top) and painting (bottom) of the 'blue' Fugates of Perry Country, Kentucky (circa 1920)



A packhorse librarian in the Appalachian Mountains

Background (no spoilers): Cussy Carter is one of the 'Kentucky Blue People' whose skin appears blue because of a genetic condition called methemoglobinemia, a non-contagious anomaly that affects red blood cells. The blue people face bigotry and discrimination and tend to isolate themselves. Nevertheless, in 1936 - at the age of nineteen - Cussy becomes a 'Pack Horse Librarian' who rides a mule to deliver books to the remote hill people of the Appalachian Mountains.



Due to a confluence of circumstances, Cussy marries, becomes a widow, adopts an orphaned baby named Honey, and gets married again - to a White man called Jackson Lovett. Cussy and Jackson's marriage breaks Kentucky's miscegenation laws, and causes big trouble for the couple.



'The Mountains We Call Home' opens in 1953 when Cussy is in her mid-thirties. Cussy and her husband Jackson are arrested and imprisoned for their 'interracial marriage', and their 16-year-old adopted daughter Honey is left to look after herself with the help of kind friends and neighbors.

Cussy is sent to the Kentucky State Reformatory for Women, and Jackson is jailed in the men's prison nearby. The matron of the women's reformatory, Warden Sanders, assigns Cussy to kitchen duty under 'lifer' Waldeen Parker, who's in prison for shooting a man. Cussy's job is to keep the kitchen accounts and help with cooking and cleaning, and she does well at her tasks.



Later, when the prison librarian is dismissed, Warden Sanders gives Cussy the job. As the prison librarian, Cussy makes the rounds of the wards (general population, forensic, hospital, geriatric, death row) where she distributes books and reads to the inmates, many of whom are illiterate.



Over time, with Warden Sanders' encouragement, Cussy makes improvements to the prison library; writes letters soliciting more books; and teaches convicts to read and write, so they can exchange letters with their loved ones. The exposure to books and learning has a salutary effect on all parts of the penitentiary, which pleases the warden and the guards.

On the downside, Cussy's rounds expose her to some horrible conditions in the jail, like elderly women being left in their own excrement for hours; troublesome inmates being lobotomized; and women undergoing forced abortions and sterilizations.




Protest against sterilization


Lobotomized woman

Cussy's exemplary work as prison librarian earns her a brief furlough. Mrs. Effie Claxton, director of the Western Colored Branch Library in Louisville, Kentucky, wants to start a literacy program so more Black people can register to vote. Mrs. Claxton asks Warden Sanders for assistance, and Cussy is sent to stay with the Claxtons and help teach local residents to read and write.


Western Colored Branch Library



I need to be circumspect to avoid spoilers, but I can say Mrs. Claxton and Cussy embark on a road trip, and Cussy gets her introduction to the Green Book and sundown towns. The Green Book is 'The Negro Motorist Green Book', a travel guide for African Americans during segregation, and sundown towns exclude Black people after dark.





Sundown communities enforce segregation with intimidation and violence, and Mrs. Claxton and Cussy have an unfortunate experience when they need to fill the car's gas tank.



To Cussy's surprise, Mrs. Claxton explains that Black people even keep chauffeurs' hats and maids' uniforms in their car trunks, to don when they need to drive through 'hostile territory'.



Through all this, Cussy desperately misses her husband Jackson and daughter Honey. Sadly, Cussy can't even write them letters for a time, because - until Cussy makes extra money as the prison librarian - she can't afford the 3-cent stamps.

As the story proceeds, we follow along as Cussy and her husband Jackson are out of prison, but can't live in Kentucky because Jackson is banned from the state for 25 years. The couple's peregrinations eventually take them to Detroit, Michigan, where industrialization, crowding, and crime contrasts with beautiful rural 'Kaintuck' where they grew up and which they miss with all their hearts.



For me, the most interesting parts of the novel are the chapters about the Kentucky State Reformatory for Women. The 'rights' of the prison to lobotomize inmates, and enforce eugenics laws by forced abortions and sterilizations is appalling. The story of a death row inmate, who's in prison because she killed two husbands who regularly beat her, also tells us something about society in the mid-20th century. (Note: In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that miscegenation laws are unconstitutional.)

The book has a recipe for Old West Walnut Street Chile with Tamales, a new dish for Cussy that she finds delicious.



I found the novel compelling and enlightening. Highly recommended.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Katie Schorr, who does a fine job.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kim Michele Richardson, and Sourcebooks Audio for an ARC of the book.

Rating: 4 stars 

Review of "How To Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay: Tips And Tricks That Kept Me Alive, Happy, And Creative In Spite Of Myself" by Jenny Lawson

Jenny Lawson - born and raised in Texas - is a journalist, blogger, author, humorist, and artist who suffers from mental illness, attention deficit disorder, clinical depression, anxiety attacks, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune problems, and more. This makes Lawson's life challenging, but her medication - as well as her husband and daughter - help Jenny cope.


Author Jenny Lawson

I've previously read two of Lawson's bestselling books, Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things and Broken, in which Jenny provides encouragement to people with mental health issues.....and to everyone else whose life isn't perfect. Lawson's motivational observations are illustrated by personal anecdotes that make gentle fun of everything and everyone, including herself.

This book is a more straightforward self-help book. Lawson notes, "Over the years, I have hoarded a treasure chest of tips and tricks that help me manage my head and my heart. That's what you'll find here in 'How To Be Okay When Nothing Feels Okay.'

To get readers up to speed on her personal life, Lawson shares this brief bio: "I've been married to my long-suffering but loving husband (Victor) for decades, and we have a wonderful kid (Hailey), three demanding cats (Ferris Mewler, Hunter S. Thomcat, and Rolly), and a small neurotic dog (Dorothy Barker). Five years ago we opened a very weird but fun indie bookstore and bar in San Antonio called Nowhere Bookshop that is somehow still thriving."


From left to right: Hailey, Jenny, and Victor Lawson


Jenny Lawson's Nowhere Bookshop

In essence, this book is a series of tips - related in fun prose - to give readers a boost and help them get through bad days. Thus Jenny provides advice about how to value yourself; be more confident; not compare yourself unfavorably with other people; not beat yourself up about perceived failures; let go of irrational fears; overcome imposter syndrome; use memory aids; stave off panic attacks; deal with panic attacks; do things that bring you joy; make playlists for different moods; reach out to family, friends, and the community; do something easy if you can't do something hard; sleep, rest, and restore; get a pet; limit your doom-scrolling; if you can't do it now, assign a task to your future self; take meds if you need them; explore new horizons; don't read negative reviews (have a friend vet them); celebrate good times; and much more.

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Lawson personalizes the narrative with lots of stories about herself, which provide concrete examples of how to cope with depression and mental or emotional difficulties. You don't have to suffer from any of Lawson's troubles, however, to benefit from the book. There's plenty of good advice for everyone, and laughs along the way.

I'll give some examples of Lawson's entertaining anecdotes.

🌸 In the category, you haven't embarrassed yourself as badly as this: Edward de Vere - the 17th Earl of Oxford - was bowing to Queen Elizabeth when he let out an enormous fart, which he was so mortified about he left the country for seven years.



🌸 Lawson read that people in Norway sometimes respond to 'How are you?' with " “Oppe og ikke gråter" which means "Up, and not crying." She writes, "This is my new favorite response ever, especially on days when just leaving your bed can be an achievement."



🌸 Lawson is a proponent of the Irish goodbye, or leaving a social gathering without saying farewell. Jenny writes, "The famous linguist Anatoly Liberman said that the original Irish goodbye came from the English, who called it the 'French leave.' And the French were apparently not pleased and so they called ducking out quickly 'Filer à l’anglaise', which means 'To leave like the English.' In any case, it means do a runner.



🌸 Early in her career, Lawson wrote a blog about her family and was labeled a 'mommy blogger' when her male counterparts were labeled 'parenting bloggers.' Since 'mommy blogger' was deliberately demeaning, Jenny decided to pick her own label, and chose 'Princess Lawson - Superintendent of Malevolent Pomeranians.' In the book, Jenny kindly includes 'The (Incredibly) Random Title Generator' to help readers pick a label. I've chosen 'Doctor Barbara - Commissioner of Weird Diseases.'



I got some good tips from the book, which is fine for reading straight through or dipping into as needed. Recommended for anyone who sometimes needs a boost.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jenny Lawson, and Viking Penguin for an ARC of the book.

3.5 stars