The Cork O’Connor mystery series immerses readers in the rugged and untamed wilds of Minnesota, infused with the deep history of Native American culture and populated with a richly drawn group of characters.

Central to the stories is part Ojibwa and part Irish Cork O’Connor, who is the former sheriff of the fictional Tamarack County and works as a private detective at the start of the series.

Fans of the series single out William Kent Krueger as a master storyteller, who draws them in with his lyrical, descriptive prose, nail-biting suspense, and complex characters. Gritty, elegiac, and with elements of classic private detective novels, William also weaves in elements of environmental conservation, small-town politics, Native American culture, and layered family dynamics, providing readers with far more than simple crime fiction stories.

When William Kent Krueger is asked by readers where they should begin his series, he always recommends they start with Iron Lake (Book 1) because his series unfolds in “real time,” meaning Cork and his family age and change as the series progresses. However, he changed his advice after writing Lightning Strike (Book 18), which is a prequel novel to the Cork series. Lightning Strike is essentially a standalone novel, and readers do not need any prior knowledge of the characters or events in the series to enjoy it. William says the book gives an excellent introduction to the characters and settings that the reader will meet again when they begin reading the series from Iron Lake.