Crime Thriller
William Kent Krueger Books in Order
by William Kent Krueger
Half-Irish, half-Ojibwe former sheriff Cork O'Connor navigates crime and community in the Minnesota lake country, where Krueger weaves Anishinaabe spirituality into richly human mysteries. His standalone novels, including the Edgar-winning Ordinary Grace, are equally acclaimed.
About the series
William Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor series follows Corcoran "Cork" O'Connor, a half-Irish, half-Ojibwe former sheriff of Tamarack County in the Minnesota lake country. Cork is a flawed, deeply moral man navigating crimes that often brush against the history and spirituality of the Anishinaabe people on whose land he lives. Krueger's Minnesota wilderness is rendered with a naturalist's eye, and the series balances classic mystery plotting with genuine literary weight. Outside the Cork books, Krueger has written three acclaimed standalones: Ordinary Grace (2013, Edgar Award winner), This Tender Land (2019), and The River We Remember (2023), all set in Minnesota and exploring loss, faith, and redemption.
Recommended reading order
Start with Iron Lake (1998) and follow the Cork O'Connor novels in publication order — Cork's family life, his relationship with the Red Lake Ojibwe community, and his personal tragedies accumulate meaningfully across the series. The standalones can be read in any order and at any time; Ordinary Grace in particular is often recommended as an entry point for readers new to Krueger.
Reading order
25 books · Ongoing