Book Club Friends Discussion Guide For:
Iron Lake (20th Anniversary Edition) by William Kent Krueger

Iron Lake (20th Anniversary Edition)
William Kent Krueger
Iron Lake (20th Anniversary Edition) is Book #1 of the Cork O’Connor series

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.

Published: 1998

Iron Lake (20th Anniversary Edition) Discussions

Please note that all discussions may contain spoilers.

Topic
Date
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  • Open Discussion Questions About Iron Lake On Book Club Friends

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  • What did you think of Iron Lake and why?
    15/10/2024

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  • In what ways do Cork’s heritage and background make him suited to lead the investigation at the heart of Iron Lake and in what ways do they hinder his efforts?
    16/10/2024

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  • How does the way the characters relate to the environs of Aurora enhance your appreciation or understanding of the setting?
    17/10/2024

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  • Does this story and tradition increase the suspense of the mystery and the tension amongst the characters?
    18/10/2024

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  • How do family dynamics drive the plot of – and the mysteries at the center of – this book?
    19/10/2024

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  • What effects, both positive and negative, did the introduction of the Casino have on the Aurora community?
    20/10/2024

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  • How might you have reacted if you were in Cork’s shoes during the conflict over water and fishing rights?
    21/10/2024

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  • What did you think of Friar Tom Griffin’s and Sheriff Wally Shannon’s choices?
    22/10/2024

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  • What factors drive the choices of Sheriff Schanno, and Cork O’Connor?
    23/10/2024

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  • What significance might the Romeo and Juliet storyline hold, allegorical or otherwise?
    24/10/2024

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  • How do you think Sam Winter Moon and Henry Meloux help guide Cork?
    25/10/2024

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  • What do you think of the women in the book?
    26/10/2024

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  • How do you view Cork as a father?
    27/10/2024

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  • Despite their infidelity, neither Jo nor Cork spends the night with their lovers until they learn of the other’s betrayal. It seems that, until that point, spending an entire night was a boundary they were unwilling to cross. What do you think changed in their view of their marriage and future that led to this shift in behaviour?
    28/10/2024

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  • Bestselling novelist Louise Penny has praised her colleague William Kent Krueger’s protagonist as one who “walked off the page… tough, vulnerable, hardened and shattered” from his very first appearance. If you feel this to be true, what life experiences, personality traits, or narrative choices by the author contribute to the feeling?
    29/10/2024

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