FICTION

Only the Dead

Univ. of Minnesota. (Minnesota Trilogy, Bk. 2). Sept. 2014. 152p. tr. from Norwegian by Tiina Nunnally. ISBN 9780816689422. $22.95. F
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When U.S. Forest Service officer and amateur local historian Lance Hansen discovers a dead Norwegian tourist at a campsite on the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota, he suspects his brother Andy is the culprit, but he has no evidence to arrest him. Four months later, the brothers set out for their annual deer hunting trip, which takes them near the site of the homicide. As they track deer, Andy's odd behavior makes Lance doubt his brother's alibi. Intertwined with the present-day story of the Hansens' hunting trip is a century-old tale of the disappearance of an Objibwe medicine man and his connection to a Norwegian immigrant, a distant relation to the Hansens.
VERDICT Sundstøl's outstanding second entry in his acclaimed "Minnesota Trilogy" (after Land of the Dead) measures up to the first installment with its quick pace and succinct plot. Fans of Camilla Läckberg's crime novels and mysteries with a Minnesota setting will enjoy reading this chilling psychological thriller. Nunnally's translation is excellent and accessible to an American audience. The third installment in the trilogy, The Ravens, is forthcoming.
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