Age Group:
Adult

Genre:
Wilderness Adventure, Canadian Literature, Historical Fiction, Humourous, Mystery, Native, Realistic, Suspense

Summary:
Wow, part murder-mystery, part wilderness adventure, part courtroom drama, part budding romance; this book has it all! Leckie succeeds in skillfully fusing these genres in a story that really keeps the pages turning!

Coppermine tells the remarkable tale (based on true events) of the disappearance of two Catholic priests in a remote Arctic region known as the Coppermine. Determined to solve the case, Northwest Mounted Police officer Jack Creed is joined by Angituk McAndrew, a young Inuit interpretor, on a year-long journey to uncover the mystery.

In a place called Bloody Falls, they discover the dismembered remains of the two missionaries. After some investigation, they track down the two Eskimo hunters responsible for the crime and the four begin the dangerous journey back to Edmonton. When the two hunters are brought to justice, no one can predict their fate, but Jack is determined to save them at all costs.

My Thoughts:
Kudos to Ruthanne for discovering this gem. It’s not usually the kind of book I would pick up to read, but I ended up really getting into it. I loved that it was full of many surprises and twists and turns, right until the very end. It had so much of what makes great fiction: an intriguing plot, charming characters and mysterious, magical surroundings. I highly recommend it!

Borrow Coppermine from your local Vaughan library today! If you’re interested in the true account of the Coppermine case, try Bloody Falls of the Coppermine: madness, murder, and the collision of cultures in the Arctic, 1913.

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