Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger

 
First Line: Cork O'Connor first heard the story of the Windigo in the fall of 1963 when he hunted the big bear with Sam Winter Moon.
 
Cork O'Connor loses his job as sheriff of a small Minnesota town after a confrontation between whites and Native Americans on the nearby reservation causes him to shoot a local white resort owner. The loss of his job also led to the loss of his marriage. 

Even though he's begun a new relationship with Molly Nurmi, he hasn't lost hope of rebuilding his marriage-- primarily because of his children.

When a judge commits suicide and a local boy goes missing, Cork finds himself drawn to investigate regardless of the fact that there's a new sheriff in town. The long-buried secrets he's going to find are going to ignite a powder keg.

~

Having seen William Kent Krueger several times at events held at my local independent bookstore, I've always intended to read his Cork O'Connor 0mysteries-- especially since I loved his book, Ordinary Grace. A few years have passed since I first had that intention, so it was time to pry that particular paving stone out of my personal Highway to Hades. 

Iron Lake is the first Cork O'Connor mystery and introduces us primarily to Cork, his estranged wife, Jo, his girlfriend, Molly, and his mentor, Sam Winter Moon. Cork is one-quarter Native American, and I loved the way Krueger wove the Ojibwe and Anishinaabe culture and folklore into the story. The winter landscape of northern Minnesota also figured prominently, and I don't think anyone is ever going to be able to convince me that sweating myself silly in a sauna and then running out and jumping into a lake through a hole in the ice is a fun thing to do.

The mystery is solid, and the pacing is steady and true as Cork works his way through all the secrets that have been kept over the years by several of the townspeople. Some extremely suspenseful situations and a chase over the lake ice kept me glued to the story.

Was there anything that I didn't care for? Yes. The two women were a bit too stereotypical for me. Jo was such a "wronged woman" that I rolled my eyes so far back in my head that they almost stuck. As for Molly, she was the typical love interest of the hero. Even though I hate to admit it, I never really warmed up to Cork himself, and I'm not sure why. As much as I did like Iron Lake, I can certainly see myself reading the next book in the series to see if Mr. O'Connor improves upon acquaintance.

Narrated by David Chandler
ASIN: B003NGXOQ0
Recorded Books © 2010
Audiobook. 11 hours, 57 minutes.
 
Law Enforcement, #1 Cork O'Connor mystery
Rating: B
Source: Purchased from Audible.

12 comments:

  1. I need to move on with this series, I read Iron Lake a year or so ago and fully intended to read book 2 but haven't. Agree with all you said about it and I absolutely 'loved' the setting beside a Minnesotan lake. From a grey, murky UK it sounds wonderful.

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    1. Yes, I enjoyed Krueger's description of the landscape, too. He and his wife spend part of their winters here in Arizona.

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  2. What a great mental picture, Cathy - ...I rolled my eyes so far back in my head that they almost stuck.. I've 'met' characters like that, and I know just exactly what you mean! I liked Ordinary Grace very much, too, and have meant to try the Cork O'Conner series. Hmm... I still may, because I do like the setting. Hmmm...

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    1. Well, it was only the first book in the series. I know how beautifully Krueger can write, so I want to continue on. :-)

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  3. I've only read two of Krueger's Cork O'Connor mysteries, but I enjoyed them both. I need to read more in this series in 2022. :)

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    1. If only we could all read as fast as we wanted to (yet not lose any of the enjoyment)... ;-)

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  4. What a riot. I could live without the female stereotypes, too. I read a few books in this series years ago, but my interest waned.
    I also loved Ordinary Grace.

    William Kent Keueger is an interesting guy, saw him on a PP zoom interview.

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    1. I'm glad he's been able to get away from Cork to explore new things.

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  5. This series has been on my TBR as well and I haven't started it yet. I grew up in Minnesota and now live in Wisconsin and you can't convince me to sweat myself silly in a sauna and then jump into a hole in the ice either. But it is a fairly common thing that people do. Sometimes only the jumping in the water through the ice part, often set up as an event. There is one called the Polar Plunge that raises money for Special Olympics.

    I'm hoping some of the rough edges are smoothed out in book two!

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  6. I have been reading the series for so long that I don't remember my reaction to the women in this first book. Since it's from earlier in his career, it's likely that things improve as the series continues. I also loved Ordinary Grace, and was glad to see the additional attention this brought for Kreuger. Interestingly enough, I haven't managed to see any of his events yet (live or in-person,), so that may be a goal for the new year.

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    1. I was lucky to see him more than once at The Poisoned Pen when he appeared with Margaret Coel. They're both good people and very interesting to talk with.

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