Ordinary Grace

By: William Kent Krueger

Narrated by: Rich Orlow

Award-winning author William Kent Krueger has gained an immense fan base for his Cork O’Connor series. In Ordinary Grace, Krueger looks back to 1961 to tell the story of Frank Drum, a boy on the cusp of manhood. A typical 13-year-old with a strong, loving family, Frank is devastated when a tragedy forces him to face the unthinkable - and to take on a maturity beyond his years.

©2013 William Kent Krueger (P)2013 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

“Krueger aims higher and hits harder with a stand-alone novel that shares much with his other work.” ( Kirkus Reviews)

Thoughtful coming of age in the midwest story

Wm Krueger has written an emotionally charged story of, primarily, the coming of age of two young boys in 1961 rural Minnesota. The sons of a local preacher and mother who gave up a career to marry their older sister is the family star. When a series of misfortunes hit the town this family is torn apart as are other characters.

Speaking of characters, Krueger has developed each person in his novel with grace and thoroughness, telling not only about their summer of ;'61 but their pasts. I enjoyed Gus very much and felt he added a lot to the boys growth.

The conclusion surprised me a lot and In mysteries I find that a welcome part of a story arc.

I feel fortunate to have listened to two 5 star novels in a row thru Audible. These both were books I would never have purchased were it not for Audibles Return policy for members..I am encouraged to try authors I've never heard of before.

Thanks Audible.

Interesting small town story

Good story
Good characters
Good theme
Good all round for all
Audible reading is good

great listen & great story

Have loved all of William Kent Krueger's books. This one was no exception. The end is predictable but getting there was exquisite. It is a good lesson in keeping hope & faith while undergoing very difficult personal tragedy. Title choice was right on.

NOT a Cork O'Connor book...

Any additional comments?

...but a very good listen. This book reminds me very much of the movie 'Stand By Me.' It is a coming of age story of a 13 year old boy and his brother, told by his adult self. It took me a while to get past the idea that it wasn't a Cork O'Connor story and listen to it on its own merit. Once I was able to do that, I was fully enveloped in this poignant story of a young boy dealing with family and friends, and life and death in a small town in which he lived for several years. The rich characters and the relationships between them had me coming back to listen, even more than the mystery of who the killer was, which was definitely the secondary story line. If you liked 'Stand By Me' you'll love 'Ordinary Grace.'

Simply extraordinary!

What a wonderful book and a good read. I loved it from start to finish. The mystery is less important than the character development, although the mystery is pretty good it was figured out rather quickly the character development is what took me by surprise.