Jack Pine

April 13, 2015
Hazelgrove (The Pitcher) delivers a searing look at a disintegrating company town and the desperate lengths people will go to in order to preserve their way of life. In Ely, Minn., near the Canadian border, Johnson Timber is the cornerstone business, with tourism a distant second. When loggers start getting killed, militant environmentalist Tom Jorde becomes a suspect; and when a 16-year-old girl cries rape, Sheriff Riechardt blames Tommy Tobin, a local Indian. Deputy Sheriff Reuger London tries to just do his job, but his ability to perform it with emotional detachment becomes increasingly difficult, as Johnson Timber owner Ben Johnson, Riechardt, and Jorde constantly pressure him to serve their respective interests. Distinctive supporting characters help keep the pages turning, including Benâs bullying grown son, Cliff; an environmental lawyer, Patricia Helpner; and a morally bankrupt newsman, John Mcfee. Rough country and people as tenacious as the jack pines, the softwood trees that have replaced the old clear-cut timber, make Hazelgroveâs novel memorable.

April 15, 2015
In northern Minnesota, a logger is found dead. At about the same time, a teenage girl claims that she was molested by a Native American, but then changes her story. Some concerned citizens wonder if the same man is responsible for both incidents, but Deputy Sheriff Reuger London isn't inclined to jump to conclusions, as he's convinced neither that the logger's death was murder nor that the girl was really molested. Under pressure to close the cases, London soon finds himself stuck in the middle of a potentially violent conflict between loggers and environmentalists. Hazelgrove tells great stories (his last book was the wonderful Real Santa, 2014), and he creates believable, captivating characters. The people in Jack Pine feel like just that: people, not fictional characters. Hazelgrove gives these characters a tactile environment, the Minnesota Boundary Waters region near the Canadian border, and real voices (that distinctive upper-midwestern drawl we know from Fargo). Another fine effort from a very interesting writer. This one will appeal especially to William Kent Krueger fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)