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Iron Lake  By  cover art

Iron Lake

By: William Kent Krueger
Narrated by: David Chandler
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Publisher's summary

Anthony Award-winning author William Kent Krueger crafts this riveting tale about a small Minnesota town’s ex-sheriff who is having trouble retiring his badge. Cork O’Connor loses his job after being blamed for a tragedy on the local Anishinaabe Indian reservation. But he must set aside his personal demons when a young boy goes missing on the same day a judge commits suicide—and no one but O’Connor suspects foul play.

Solve another case with Cork O'Connor.
©1998 William Kent Krueger (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Krueger makes Cork a real person beneath his genre garments, mostly by showing him dealing with the needs of his two very different teenage daughters. And the author's deft eye for the details of everyday life brings the town and its peculiar problems to vivid life." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Iron Lake

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Heartwarming Suspense Adventure

Heartwarming, suspense, adventure that’s a combination you don’t find every day. This is my first William Kent Krueger book and I am a new fan. The only reason I didn’t give this five stars is that I don’t give five stars for anything less than a classic. If I give five stars for every great book, then what do I give to books like “to kill a Mockingbird“, the “Harry Potter” series or Charles Dickens? So I gave four stars and for me that means one terrific book that I enjoyed from start to finish. I won’t do a recap of the plot. Publisher does a good enough job of that and I hate reading spoilers but I would liken in this book to Empire Falls by Richard Russo*, not because it is the same in geography or storyline but simply to say that if you liked one you will probably like the other.

If you like stories with strong characterization and a lot of humanity coupled with a good, strong plot, mystery, suspense - here you go.

It’s also my first experience of David Chandler and he is A+ terrific!

(*I have been working my way through the list of Pulitzer Prize winning fiction, curious to understand what makes a Pulitzer Prize winner. It seems to have something to do with sociology; a window into a personal story revealing life in a specific place, at a specific time of history. If so, I am not sure why Russo‘s books garnered a Pulitzer Prize and something like this did not - but I digress.)

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Tony Hillerman lite

Krueger's more recent stuff is better and more believable. Plenty of stilted dialogue. Interesting yarn, though.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent listen

Engaging narration, fantastic plot; welcome to world of Cork O’Connor. David Chandler performs superbly. The characters come alive and the story moves fluidly. The story introduces you to Corcoran O’Connor, a solid man and flawed to be sure. Dogged to find the truth, tenacious to the extreme and driven by what is right. Great listen!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Iron Lake

I just discovered the William Kent Krueger series and love the 1st book. I am looking forward the next book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good writer but too much domestic soap

Often felt like book was 60 % domestic soap opera and 40 % crime novel. The writer was too good to quit on but found myself wanting to finish just to get on to something else

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Cork was a bacon

The overall story was good. Extremely well performed. The main character was a buffoon; it’s hard to imagine a grown man who had been in law-enforcement in Chicago and then a county sheriff making so many boneheaded mistakes. His constant mistakes took a lot away from the believability of the story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Really good first read.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Has it all- detective, romance, intrigue and western touches. Ready for Book #2 in series.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Loved it

The story was very good although descriptions of everything made it drag and slow down at times. Narration was excellent. I will definitely read this author again.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, but….

This book either needed to be longer or a sequel. Too many loose ends and unanswered questions.

Having said that, I really enjoyed it. Good story and great narrator.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved this book!

This book is well written and well read with multifaceted plots and characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this Audible book.

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