The World of Cork O'Connor: A Look Behind the Pages of the Beloved Mystery Series

Cork O'Connor

by William Kent Krueger

As the author of over fifteen spellbinding novels in the Cork O’Connor mystery series, William Kent Krueger has introduced countless readers to a harsh but magnificent Minnesota landscape and a cast of remarkable characters who call it home. This is the world of Cork O’Connor.

Now in this helpful reader’s companion, readers can gain new insight into how the series has evolved book after book, how Cork O’Connor came to exist as a character, and how Minnesota’s great Northwoods proved to be as important to the books as any human character Krueger created. You’ll find a brief description of each book in the series, a concordance of the characters introduced in each book, and a tantalizing excerpt. Whether you are just discovering William Kent Krueger’s masterful storytelling skills or have been a fan for years, The World of Cork O’Connor provides an overview of an extraordinary body of work that only gets richer over time, and a glimpse into the mind of a gifted writer.

Genres: Mystery

80 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 26, 2016

About the author

Raised in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, William Kent Krueger briefly attended Stanford University—before being kicked out for radical activities. After that, he logged timber, worked construction, tried his hand at freelance journalism, and eventually ended up researching child development at the University of Minnesota. He currently makes his living as a full-time author. He’s been married for over 40 years to a marvelous woman who is an attorney. He makes his home in St. Paul, a city he dearly loves.

Krueger writes a mystery series set in the north woods of Minnesota. His protagonist is Cork O’Connor, the former sheriff of Tamarack County and a man of mixed heritage—part Irish and part Ojibwe. His work has received a number of awards, including the Minnesota Book Award, the Loft-McKnight Fiction Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award, the Dilys Award, and the Friends of American Writers Prize. His last five novels were all New York Times bestsellers.

"Ordinary Grace," his stand-alone novel published in 2013, received the Edgar Award, given by the Mystery Writers of America in recognition for the best novel published in that year. "Windigo Island," number fourteen in his Cork O’Connor series, was released in August 2014.

Reviews

[Peg · Rating 5 out of 5]

So descriptive, never been there but can visualize it.

I read just about everything, just happened on this writer. Have a great desire to visit the state, he writes so lovingly about it. Just love these books . The characters, situations the family gets into and the scenery. I'm 80 years old and read at least 4 of 5 books a week. Have since I was a child and discovered the library. These are a pleasure to read.

[Dav · Rating 4 out of 5]

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The World of Cork O'Connor:
A Look Behind the Pages of the Beloved Mystery Series
By William Kent Krueger, pub. in 2016, under 100 pages.

The author has introduced readers to a harsh but magnificent Minnesota landscape and a cast of characters who call it home. This is the world of Cork O’Connor.

In this companion, readers can gain insight into how the series has evolved, how Cork O’Connor came to exist as a character, and how Minnesota’s great Northwoods proved to be as important to the books as the characters Krueger created. You’ll find a brief description of each book in the series (up to 2016), a concordance of the characters introduced in each book, and a tantalizing excerpt. - edited

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Begins with an author's note on the series he calls, "the saga of the Cork O'Connor clan." Cork is Tamarack County's former sheriff and now the proprietor of Sam's Place, his own burger joint and a part-time PI as well. With the adage, "Write what you know," Krueger styled his hero after himself. A family man with a blond attorney wife and values of justice, commitment and family. The author shares all these with his Cork character, but insists Cork is not me.

Cork is a dynamic character that ages and changes throughout the series, as does his family. And he intended Cork to be thoroughly resilient. No matter what the author puts him through, Cork will "always bob back to the surface." The author says he plans to keep the series going "and Cork and company will continue to stumble upon dead bodies and ... find out who dunit."

Each of the first 15 books is listed and includes a brief overview, a list of new characters and their role in that story and an excerpt from that book which is about one or two pages in length.

In the final section, "A Conversation" various topics are mentioned in a question and answer format. Some of the items covered include: Which book do readers identify as their favorite? Usually it's whichever book they read first.
Is there a chance of zombies in a future story? No.
His most villainous villains? He chose to make the Christian group in Northwest Angle the ultimate bad guys. [A disappointing choice in my opinion, since so many writers lazily make church folk or the preacher the bad guy].
An abundance of violence and guns and Cork later refusing to arm himself. Cork can't escape violence and is forced into those situations. The author ignores the anti firearm question.
Books that include social issues. He likes to insert an issue into the mystery which gives the author an opportunity to "spout off without giving the other side an opportunity for rebuttal."

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Interesting and informative, but short on details of the author's creativity and his well-informed research on numerous topics. Primarily the book provides extra details for those first 15 books in the series.





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The Cork O'Connor series.
the later books are not mentioned in this companion.

Iron Lake (1998)
Boundary Waters (1999)
Purgatory Ridge (2001)
Blood Hollow (2004)
Mercy Falls (2005)

Copper River (2006)
Thunder Bay (2007)
Red Knife (2008)
Heaven's Keep (2009)
Vermilion Drift (2010)

Northwest Angle (2011)
Trickster's Point (2012)
Tamarack County (2013)
Windigo Island (2014)
Manitou Canyon (2016)

▪︎ The World of Cork O'Connor (2016)

Sulfur Springs (2017)
Desolation Mountain (2018)
Lightning Strike (2021)
Fox Creek (2022)



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[Mike Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was hard to rate since it was so unique. This is a quick summary of the Cork O'Connor series. It starts with Krueger giving some quick thoughts on the series as a whole. It then goes into the books in the series. There is a quick paragraph introducing each book by Krueger. Next the main characters involved in the book are introduced. After that there is an excerpt from the book itself. This book ends with a question and answer with Krueger regarding the series.

If I was just starting the series, I would love this as an introduction. Having read all except one book, it didn't do as much for me. I really liked the Q&A and the introduction. When I heard about this book, I thought Krueger was interviewed about each book individually. That is not the case here, but the Q&A was still the highlight of the book.

If I was Krueger, I would have given this to my readers for free,but given it cost $0.99 it isn't that big of a deal. Overall I went with three stars because there is some value there.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truth be told, the main reason I decided to read this is that it's the kind of book that, until recently, I as a blind person would not have been able to accesss. I was curious to see exactly what it contained.


After a short note from the author, each of the titles in the Cork O'Connor series is listed. following the title is a brief comment by the author about the book followed by an excerpt.

It was fun to revisit these books, all of which I absolutely loved. I'm not sure that this guide is all that useful, but I don't regret reading it.

[Sandie Herron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book of excerpts from the first fifteen Cork O'Connor books written by William Kent Krueger. Each excerpt includes a few words by the author pertaining to this book in the series and why it was his favorite, most liked, etc. Even these short bits provided insight into the stories themselves from the author's point of view.

Each excerpt chosen fully captivates the reader for perhaps ten pages each before completion. The portion given is more than enough to entice one to get that book off the shelf to read.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. More of a summary of all the books up to 2016 than a real look behind the scenes.

[Phyllis Fredericksen]

Basically a review of the books.

[Barbara Gard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great review of books I loved

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I expected from this book, but it was not anything I would have expected. This is a review of the Cork O'Connor series of books by William Kent Krueter, and it delineates the whole series and the main characters in each book, and excerpts a portion of each book verbatim. Since I've read all of them for me it was merely a review of each book. At the end there was a short Q&A with the author, but overall the book was disappointing, since there was not much in it that had not already been covered by all the books in the series. It seems more like a ploy on the part of the author to just get more book sales. Unless somebody is considering reading the series & has not yet started it has no value, in my opinion. And if a reader is considering reading the series, like most series you should start at the first book & continue in order, if possible.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded to 3.0 - William Kent Krueger is one of my favorite authors, but this book was a bit of a disappointment. I expected more background and insight, based on the publisher's description, but really it was a synopsis and list of new characters found in each book, with a short Q & A with the author at the very end.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

All repeat. Nothing new here. Just excerpts from books - no backstory.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

a short introduction to the Cork O'Connor series by the author as well as brief samples from each book.

[Nolabeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent synopsis of the entire series for someone who is wondering if this is a mystery series they might enjoy

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great introduction for each novel