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by William Kent Krueger
In eighteen novels over twenty years, William Kent Krueger has enthralled readers with the adventures of P.I. Cork O'Connor, former sheriff of Aurora, Minnesota—selling more than 1.5 million copies of his books and winning the Edgar Award, Minnesota Book Award, Northeastern Minnesota Book Award, Dilys Award, Lovey Award, and Anthony Award along the way.
Now, in this special anniversary edition, longtime fans and new readers alike can read the novel that first introduced Corcoran "Cork" O'Connor to the world.
Part Irish, part Anishinaabe Indian, Cork is having difficulty dealing with the marital meltdown that has separated him from his children, getting by on heavy doses of caffeine, nicotine, and guilt. Once a cop on Chicago's South Side, there's not much that can shock him. But when the town's judge is brutally murdered, and a young Eagle Scout is reported missing, Cork takes on this complicated and perplexing case of conspiracy, corruption, and a small-town secret that hits painfully close to home.
What are you reading this week? (4/3/2025)?
This week I read and finished Goodnight, June by Sarah Jio and In My Time of Dying by Sebastian Junger, both relatively short books. I picked up the book my husband just finished, Iron Lake, by William Kent Krueger, just out of curiosity and am now on page 90, so will probably finish it. Next on ...
-Dee_Hatcher
"Minnesotan Krueger has a sense of place he's plainly honed firsthand in below-zero prairie. His characters, too, sport charm and dimension… This first-timer's stamina and self-assurance suggest that O'Connor's got staying power." ―Kirkus Reviews
"If you don't know Cork O'Connor, get to know him now." ―Booklist
"Among thoughtful readers, William Kent Krueger holds a very special place in the pantheon. Upon introducing Cork O'Connor in Iron Lake twenty years ago, Kent showed the mystery reading world that a protagonist need not be a chain-smoking loner with lots of emotional baggage but he could be an honest and admirable family man doing his best for all the right reasons." ―C.J. Box, #1 NYT Bestselling Author of The Disappeared
"For readers new to William Kent Krueger, this 20th anniversary edition of Iron Lake will be an eye-opening discovery. For those of us who have been reading his wonderful Cork O'Connor novels since their beginning, this volume will be a welcome pilgrimage to the birthplace of one of our favorite characters, a journey down Krueger's icy, mysterious and singular memory lane." ―T. Jefferson Parker, Edgar Award winning author of Swift Vengeance
This information about Iron Lake was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
William Kent Krueger is the New York Times bestselling author of The River We Remember, This Tender Land, Ordinary Grace (winner of the Edgar Award for best novel), and the original audio novella The Levee, as well as twenty acclaimed books in the Cork O'Connor mystery series, including Spirit Crossing, Fox Creek, and Lightning Strike. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family. Learn more at WilliamKentKrueger.com.
If you liked Iron Lake, try these:
The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac
by Louise Kennedy
Published 2024
Brilliant, dark stories of women's lives by "a very major talent" (Joseph O'Connor, Irish Times)
by William Kent Krueger
Published 2022
The author of the instant New York Times bestseller This Tender Land returns with a powerful prequel to his acclaimed Cork O'Connor series - a book about fathers and sons, long-simmering conflicts in a small Minnesota town, and the events that echo through youth and shape our lives forever.
by John Boyne
Published 2018
From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Boy In the Striped Pajamas, a sweeping, heartfelt saga about the course of one man's life, beginning and ending in post-war Ireland
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…
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