THE RED CANOE

by Wayne Johnson

Overview

One of the Most Anticipated Mysteries & Thrillers of 2022—Criminal Element

One of the Most Anticipated Crime Fiction of 2022—CrimeReads

Buck, government name Michael Fineday, Ojibwe name Miskwa’ doden (Red Deer) is on the brink of suicide. He has just been served divorce papers by his wife Naomi, who is fed up with his savior complex and the danger it often attracts to their door. Living on the border of Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community reservation, Buck makes a living as a boatbuilder and carpenter. He spends his days alone, trying to win the trust of a feral cat…until a semi-feral girl shows up, fascinated by the canoe Buck is building.

Lucy, Ojibwe name Gage’ bineh, (Everlasting Bird), lives in a trailer alone with her father, a local policeman struggling with PTSD which is compounded by the loss of Lucy’s mother. Just barely fifteen she has lived with a lifetime of abuse, while knowing that if she ever spoke out, her father would bear the consequences.

Buck senses Lucy is in trouble and doesn't hesitate to come to her defense. On the foundation of their shared Ojibwe heritage, they trace Lucy’s abuse to a ring that extends farther than either of them ever imagined, while building a bond even sturdier than Buck’s canoe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781951709723
Publisher:	Agora Books
Publication date:	03/15/2022
Series:	Buck Fineday , #1
Pages:	344
Sales rank:	517,829
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Wayne Johnson is the multiple Pulitzer Prize-nominated author of the acclaimed Paul Two Persons Mysteries DON'T THINK TWICE and SIX CROOKED HIGHWAYS, a thriller, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, and many other works of fiction and nonfiction. Of mixed Native and European descent, he grew up in southern Minneapolis, and in the north lakes region of Minnesota on the White Earth and Red Lake Reservations. He currently resides in Salt Lake City. Find him online at waynejohnsonauthor.com

Editorial Reviews

03/21/2022

At the start of this intriguing if choppily plotted crime novel from Johnson (The Devil You Know), Michael “Buck” Fineday, who lives alone near Minnesota’s Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community reservation, considers shooting himself after his estranged wife serves him with divorce papers, but after flipping a coin decides instead to continue building handcrafted boats and takes on 15-year-old Lucy Walter as an apprentice. Lucy, herself a loner, lives with her widowed alcoholic father in a run-down trailer on the reservation, where she has become the victim of a group of child abusers whose members consider her fair game to rape at will. When Lucy’s best friend is murdered, she fears for her own life and turns to Buck for help. Buck uses his backwoods knowledge and training as a government agent to try to thwart the villains. The organized rape club setup stretches credulity, as does the way characters sometime behave (Lucy shows up at Buck’s eager to learn boat building shortly after she’s been sexually assaulted), but readers will care enough about Buck and Lucy to want to see how they fare in the end. Those new to Johnson may be curious to check out his previous work. Agent: Madison Smartt Bell, Ayesha Pande Literary. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"From one of the most original voices of the past several years comes a powerful story of brutal violence and righteous vengeance. Set on a reservation in southern Minnesota, THE RED CANOE unflinchingly explores the challenges of racial prejudice and sexual predation faced by an extraordinary Native teenager. Master storyteller Wayne Johnson has crafted this tale with both compassion and wisdom, and keeps the suspense building relentlessly toward the novel’s bitter cold and enormously satisfying climax."—William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of THIS TENDER LAND



“Heart-warming and gut- wrenching. A nuanced, superbly written justice thriller laced with unflinching grit and social commentary.”—Booklist (Starred Review)


"A powerful story of Indigenous people who are abused but also determined to battle brutality and corruption themselves when they can't rely on the authorities."—Library Journal (Starred Review)


"Simultaneously heartbreaking and heart-pounding, THE RED CANOE is a gritty and yet tender novel about an unrelenting pursuit for justice, redemption, and revenge. With nods to classic noir, westerns, action movies, and wilderness survival stories, this novel has a cast of misfit unlikely heroes you'll root for 'til the bloody end."—Tara Laskowski, award-winning author of THE MOTHER NEXT DOOR


"Intriguing…Readers will care enough about Buck and Lucy to see how they fare.”—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 03/01/2022

When Buck's wife files for divorce, he considers suicide. He realizes, though, that he still has his boat-building hobby, and there's a feral cat he wants to tame. There's also a girl who appears at the end of his driveway. Like Buck, Lucy Walters is Ojibwe; they also share a deep feeling of pain. Lucy has lost everything except her father. He's a cop, and when he's not at their trailer, his colleagues sexually abuse the 15-year-old Lucy. The first one who raped her warned her not to tell her father, or they'd "take care" of him. Buck recognizes Lucy's need to restore her identity, so he teaches her to build a canoe to help her journey to survival. His wife always said he needed a project, someone to save. This time, he and Lucy, along with a couple friends who are outsiders, work to take down the men who should be protecting them. VERDICT Similar to David Heska Wanbli Weiden's Winter Counts, Johnson's ("Paul Two Persons Mysteries" series) novel is a powerful story of Indigenous people who are abused but also determined to battle brutality and corruption themselves when they can't rely on the authorities.—Lesa Holstine

Library Journal