Ribbon of Black

Although the beginnings of the story take place in 1982 in a small town in rural Minnesota, Sheriff Jack Olafson still carries the weight of a missing girl case from twenty years ago. He was just a young deputy when Natalie Wilcox, a teenage girl, went missing. She was never found.

When Tina Sandstrom, another pretty, teenage girl disappears, it conjures up memories from his only failed case. The small town of Rockford, Minnesota was built along the Crow River, with a rich history of flour and lumber mills. Many of the remnants of its past are still visible, including the original single lane bridge over the river. Generations of families continue to live in town and the local diner provides the venue for the old timers to share stories about the town.

But no one wants to talk about what happened to Natalie Wilcox. It's a safe town, filled with farmers and hard-working families. Kids ride their bikes, play in the park, and explore in a time before everyone was addicted to technology. Jack vows to solve the case of the missing girl. With the assistance of a loyal deputy, Officer Peterson, Jack puts everything he has into finding Tina Sandstrom. They uncover potential witnesses, find disturbing and interesting clues, but still find their target elusive. A newcomer arrives in town, with family ties to long standing members of the community. Jack's rides a roller coaster of emotion as he digs deeper into the histories of the flock he has sworn to serve and protect. Secrets come out. The newcomer, Alex Larson, whose Aunt and Uncle, Stein and Alma, have owned Larson's Lumber Yard for generations, is a troubled youth who witnesses his father's death in a hunting accident in northern Minnesota, on the border of the Red Lake Indian Reservation.