I "discovered" William Kent Krueger via a much later book he wrote, This Tender Land, which is one of my favorite books of the 21st century. Someone then loaned me his book Ordinary Grace, which is also beautiful. Someone else mentioned that she was a huge fan of his Cork O'Connor series. And that is how I eventually got here. Crime drama is not my ordinary go-to genre. It is not that I don't like it, it is just that with so many books to choose from, there are other genres that appeal more to me. I kept thinking I might check out the first book, but I kept putting it off. This year, I signed up for the PopSugar Reading Challenge (which to me, is like a joyful literary scavenger hunt), and one of the prompts is "a book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title." I immediately thought of Iron Lake. Glad I did. I already knew Krueger writes compelling fiction, and this book, published almost 23 years ago, is no exception. Dimensional, flawed characters set against an unforgiving winter landscape; throw in a bit about Minnesota Native American culture; add a pinch of broken relationships; tangle it up in a web of blackmail, embezzlement, intimidation, and murder -- and what you get is page-turning, elevated crime drama.

Merged review:

I "discovered" William Kent Krueger via a much later book he wrote, This Tender Land, which is one of my favorite books of the 21st century. Someone then loaned me his book Ordinary Grace, which is also beautiful. Someone else mentioned that she was a huge fan of his Cork O'Connor series. And that is how I eventually got here. Crime drama is not my ordinary go-to genre. It is not that I don't like it, it is just that with so many books to choose from, there are other genres that appeal more to me. I kept thinking I might check out the first book, but I kept putting it off. This year, I signed up for the PopSugar Reading Challenge (which to me, is like a joyful literary scavenger hunt), and one of the prompts is "a book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title." I immediately thought of Iron Lake. Glad I did. I already knew Krueger writes compelling fiction, and this book, published almost 23 years ago, is no exception. Dimensional, flawed characters set against an unforgiving winter landscape; throw in a bit about Minnesota Native American culture; add a pinch of broken relationships; tangle it up in a web of blackmail, embezzlement, intimidation, and murder -- and what you get is page-turning, elevated crime drama. ( )

1st in series about Cork O?Connor, a troubled man who lost his job as sheriff in the town of Aurora, MN. He dives into the death of Judge Parrant and finds himself embroiled in the ?underworld? of the town that many want to stay hidden. Enjoyed alot.Kirkus: Cork O?Connor is a man beset with troubles, some of them of his own making. But he?s a bend-not-break man: an admirable man. And he needs to be, for it?s winter in hardscrabble Aurora, Minnesota. The blizzard that buries the small lakeside town also buries some ugly things with it. Like nasty secrets¥and brutal murder. So here?s Cork, who used to be sheriff, who used to have a wife who loved him, who used to have a purpose to his life, sort of stumbling into situations that bewilder him to the nth. There?s the apparent suicide of Judge Parrant. Suicide? Judge Parrant? Not that cantankerous old misogynist. There?s also a missing boy, a good and responsible boy, with no reason in the world for him to have run away. Then there are the murky goings-on over at the casino, where gambling is producing so much wealth for the Native American population that they?ve begun calling it ?the new buffalo.? And finally, there?s the windigo, a spirit so malevolent that it can unnerve even those who don?t actually believe in it. Almost despite himself, Cork is soon behaving like the lawman he no longer is, looking for answers that are very hard to find. And yet he does find some. Some of those he discovers, though, he soon wishes he hadn?t. Minnesotan Krueger has a sense of place he?s plainly honed firsthand in below-zero prairie. His characters, too, sport charm and dimension, although things start to get a bit shaky toward book?s end. Still, this first-timer?s stamina and self-assurance suggest that O?Connor?s got staying power.

Summary: A murdered judge and a missing paperboy sets former sheriff Cork O’Connor onto the trail of a conspiracy, a trail on which this won’t be the last death.

One of my delightful discoveries of 2023 was the the work of William Kent Krueger, through the recommendation of a fellow reader. Earlier this year I read This Tender Land (review) and Ordinary Grace (review). Both of these are standalone works. Iron Lake is the first book in Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series which has now reached nineteen books.

O’Connor, as we encounter him in this first book is a former sheriff, voted out of office in the small town of Aurora, Minnesota, after a conflict between the Anishinaabe and the townspeople that ended tragically with his mentor from childhood, Sam Winter Moon, lying dead. He is separated from his wife, Jo, and their children, living in Sam’s old quonset hut, which he has inherited, a broken man with a marriage falling apart. O’Connor also lives between two cultures, part Anishinaabe and part Irish, both and neither, entirely..

A call from Darla LeBeau changes everything. Her son Paul, a reliable Eagle Scout, hasn’t come home from delivering papers in a snow storm. He agrees to help and starts at the last house on the route, that of retired Judge Parrant. No Paul, but he gets no further. He find’s Judge Parrant’s body seated at his desk, his brains blown out from a gun held to his mouth and fired. An apparent suicide, but the pooling of blood indicates he was on his back when he died. This was murder.

That sets O’Connor on a trail of a conspiracy, one that mutes people with fear, one that leaves more bodies along the way, and one that will endanger the people Cork loves. It’s a story that involves graft, a casino, and an ambitious newly-elected Senator. The story is full of twists and surprises along the way including what becomes of Paul the paperboy.

It also involves the windigo, a mythical creature that stalks humans. He learned of the windigo when out hunting a great bear with Sam Winter Moon as a boy. Amid all else that is going on, Henry Meloux, an old medicine man says he’d seen the windigo. Then Cork hears the windigo call his name as do others. To hear the windigo call your name is to know it is after you to kill and consume you. Others also hear the windigo call their names. And they all end up dead. The only way to escape this fate is to become a windigo and kill the windigo. And what then…?

Amid all this, Cork awakens to his longing to save his family, even his marriage to Jo. Tender scenes at Christmas give us hope until pictures of each in compromising situations unravel everything, part of a trove of incriminating evidence used to control the town. But who is doing the controlling?

Krueger gives us a page-turning novel with a protagonist both flawed and of great depth. It is a great introduction that left this reader wanting to read more of Cork O’Connor. Aak! Another great series! At least I don’t have to wonder what to read after all the Gamache books! ( )

Northern Minnesota. Cork O’Connor, part Native Anishinaabe and part French, was the sheriff in a county abutting the Anishaabe reservation. He was proud of being the face of justice for both his worlds, until one day, in a dispute over Native Fishing rights, tragedy happened.

It left Cork broken and disrespected by both factions. Deeply depressed, the sheriff job slipped away as did his marriage.

Now his life is coming back together. He’s found a wonderful woman, and even though he doesn’t like his ex-wife’s politically ambitious boyfriend, the ex’s are able to cooperate for the kids.

Then a blizzard hits, and a native boy disappears delivering newspapers. In looking for him, Cork finds a murdered (suicide victim?) judge at the boy’s last stop. No one else seems to think the coincidence is suspicious but the boy remains missing. Rumor says that the boy and his father have disappeared into the nearby Reservation.

I liked the characters – both white and Native American. I also enjoyed that the woods and lakes of Minnesota and the Reservation also are wonderful, unique settings. I’ll be returning to this series. ( )

Oh, I don't know, can't we have heartfelt and rural without everyone being an asshole?

Cork is kind of a dope and lets himself get into situations he shouldn't. Even when his back is up, he's easily ambushed.

Will continue to the next one, but if the asshole count doesn't go down, I'm done. ( )