The Record, Stockton, Calif., Michael Fitzgerald column
By Michael Fitzgerald, The Record, Stockton, Calif. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
There's a
"He was the new kid in school senior year," Azevedo recalled of
That's putting it mildly. "Before I graduated from high school, I'd lived in 11 different houses, in eight different cities, in six different states," Krueger writes on his website.
"By the time I was old enough to know what's what, I realized that we simply moved every time the rent was due."
A resident of
The main character is an Irish-Ojibwe private eye. O'Connor often works closely with the sheriff's office, including that stalwart
"We were just school friends," said Azevedo, who recalls Krueger as "Smart. Studious. Athletic. Nice guy. He was just easy to talk to, easy to get to know."
And an honors English student. Krueger went on to
Azevedo lost track of him. Only years later, when helping to organize a class reunion, did Azevedo learn Krueger had launched a writing career.
Krueger's first novel, "
Azevedo caught up with Krueger in
Reading Krueger's work, Azevedo spotted a character named
In 2008 or '09, Krueger returned to
Azevedo mentioned the Munoz character. "Well, how would you like to be in one yourself?" Krueger asked.
"I said, 'Huh! Sure!" Azevedo said.
In Krueger's next book, "Vermilion Drift" (a great title, by the way), Azevedo made his debut.
"Azevedo was the deputy dispatched to the call," one passage goes. "When he arrived, he told Cork the sheriff wanted to see both Kufus and Cavanaugh at the department as soon as possible."
Deputy Azevedo was just an extra. But the character grew in prominence over successive novels.
In this passage from "Trickster's Point," the wife of a retired judge is missing in a blizzard at night. Cork, the sheriff and her deputies are scouring the woods.
It's a good sample of Krueger's writing, too.
"They hadn't gone far when Azevedo let out a shout.
"Found something!" came his voice above the wind.
"They all moved his way. In the flood of the beams from the lights, they all saw what the deputy had found. It was an elongated mounding of snow, but there was more to it than that.
"The dynamics of the wind had produced an oddity. The snow on the lee side had drifted, creating a smooth downslope, but on the windward side, a small section of what lay on the ground was blown mostly clear.
"Beneath the thin white of the snow layer that remained, they could see the red stain of blood, the blue-white marbling of flayed flesh, and the dark maroon of spilled entrails, all the result of recent brutal evisceration."
Murder! Azevedo -- the real one -- looks forward to Krueger's annual Cork novels, which usually come out in August.
"It's kind of fun to be reading through a book, and all of a sudden, there's your name," Azevedo said of Azevedo.
August is approaching, so Azevedo is primed with anticipation -- but also, curiously, he's a bit anxious. After all, the Tamarack County of Krueger's imagination is a very dangerous place.
"I'm holding my breath," Azevedo said. "I figure at some point all characters have to go away. I just hope it isn't too bloody."
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