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Series · mystery
Cork O'Connor
The Cork O'Connor series by William Kent Krueger has 22 known books (22 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with Iron Lake (1998). God's Country is the latest book with a fully recorded publication date.
- Books
- 22 known books (22 novels)
- Published
- 22
- First published
- 1998
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime
Start here: Iron Lake (1998)
— then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Iron Lake
William Kent Krueger's 1998 series opener, "Iron Lake" (464 pages) introduces former Tamarack County sheriff Cork O'Connor — half Irish, half Ojibwe, and at home fully in neither community — in the wilderness setting of Minnesota's Iron Lake country that gives the book its name. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Iron Lake - Book 2:
Boundary Waters
The second Cork O'Connor novel, "Boundary Waters" (1999, 325 pages) takes its title from the northern Minnesota wilderness Krueger writes as its own character, weaving in the land disputes and old grudges between Tamarack County and the neighboring Iron Lake Ojibwe reservation. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Boundary Waters - Book 3:
Purgatory Ridge
William Kent Krueger published "Purgatory Ridge" in 2001 as the third Cork O'Connor novel (384 pages), continuing the series' pattern of crimes that pull at the seams between Cork's Irish and Ojibwe heritages. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Purgatory Ridge - Book 4:
Blood Hollow
Preceded by "Purgatory Ridge" and followed by "Mercy Falls," "Blood Hollow" (2004) holds the fourth spot in the Cork O'Connor series, set in the Boundary Waters wilderness of northern Minnesota that Krueger writes with the same care Craig Johnson brings to Wyoming. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blood Hollow - Book 5:
Mercy Falls
The fifth Cork O'Connor novel, "Mercy Falls" (2005, 352 pages) continues William Kent Krueger's pattern of crimes rooted in Tamarack County land and family history, part of a series built on grief, spirituality and moral complexity rather than clean resolutions. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Mercy Falls - Book 6:
Copper River
William Kent Krueger published "Copper River" in 2006 as the sixth Cork O'Connor novel (320 pages), continuing the series' long-running family arcs involving Cork's wife Jo and children Jenny, Annie and Stephen. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Copper River - Book 7:
Thunder Bay
"Thunder Bay," the seventh Cork O'Connor novel, followed "Copper River" into print in 2007, continuing William Kent Krueger's Upper Midwest crime series set in the Iron Lake wilderness of northern Minnesota. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Thunder Bay - Book 8:
Red Knife
"Red Knife" follows "Thunder Bay" as the eighth Cork O'Connor novel, appearing in 2008 and continuing the series' recurring tension between Tamarack County and the neighboring Ojibwe reservation. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Red Knife - Book 9:
Heaven's Keep
"Heaven's Keep," the ninth novel in Cork O'Connor, followed "Red Knife" into print in 2009, part of William Kent Krueger's series informed by Cork's blended Catholic and Ojibwe understanding of justice. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Heaven's Keep - Book 10:
Vermilion Drift
Preceded by "Heaven's Keep" and followed by "Northwest Angle," "Vermilion Drift" (2010) holds the tenth spot in the Cork O'Connor series, continuing William Kent Krueger's exploration of old family secrets stretching back generations in Tamarack County. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Vermilion Drift - Book 11:
Northwest Angle
At 357 pages, "Northwest Angle" is the eleventh Cork O'Connor novel, dated 2011, set amid the Boundary Waters wilderness that William Kent Krueger writes as central to the series as any of its human characters. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Northwest Angle - Book 12:
Trickster's Point
"Trickster's Point" is the twelfth book in William Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor series, published in 2012 (428 pages), continuing the series' devoted following among readers of literary, character-driven regional mysteries. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Trickster's Point - Book 13:
Tamarack County
Taking its title directly from the fictional Minnesota county at the heart of the series, "Tamarack County," the thirteenth Cork O'Connor novel, followed "Trickster's Point" into print in 2013. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Tamarack County - Book 14:
Windigo Island
Book fourteen of William Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor series, "Windigo Island" was published in 2014 (346 pages), continuing the series' willingness to sit with grief and moral complexity rather than resolve every case with a clean answer. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Windigo Island - Book 15:
Manitou Canyon
William Kent Krueger published "Manitou Canyon" in 2016 as the fifteenth Cork O'Connor novel (336 pages), continuing the series' long-running family arcs involving Cork's wife Jo and children Jenny, Annie and Stephen. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Manitou Canyon - Book 16:
Sulfur Springs
"Sulfur Springs," the sixteenth novel in Cork O'Connor, followed "Manitou Canyon" into print in 2017, part of William Kent Krueger's Upper Midwest crime series rooted in the Iron Lake wilderness. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sulfur Springs - Book 17:
Desolation Mountain
At 320 pages, "Desolation Mountain" is the seventeenth Cork O'Connor novel, dated 2018, continuing the series' pattern of land and resource disputes between Tamarack County and the neighboring Ojibwe reservation. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Desolation Mountain - Book 18:
Lightning Strike
Book eighteen of William Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor series, "Lightning Strike" was published in 2021 (368 pages), part of a series that has won or been nominated for major genre awards including the Anthony and the Minnesota Book Award. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Lightning Strike - Book 19:
Fox Creek
Preceded by "Lightning Strike" and followed by "Spirit Crossing," "Fox Creek" (2022) holds the nineteenth spot in the Cork O'Connor series, continuing William Kent Krueger's portrait of Tamarack County's Irish and Ojibwe communities. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fox Creek - Book 20:
Spirit Crossing
Book twenty of William Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor series, "Spirit Crossing" was published in 2024 (336 pages), continuing the family arcs and moral complexity that distinguish the series from more clean-resolution crime fiction. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Spirit Crossing - Book 21:
Apostle's Cove
"Apostle's Cove," the twenty-first novel in Cork O'Connor, followed "Spirit Crossing" into print in 2025, part of William Kent Krueger's long-running Upper Midwest crime series set in Minnesota's Iron Lake country. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Apostle's Cove - Book 22:
God's Country
"God's Country" closes out the Cork O'Connor series to date, published on August 18, 2026 (256 pages), with no new entry currently announced to follow it in William Kent Krueger's long-running Tamarack County series. Alternative text for cover: Cover of God's Country
Key facts about the Cork O'Connor series
Our list has 22 books in the Cork O'Connor series. Since all 22 are out now, you can read the whole list today.
Start with Iron Lake, since it opens the publication order in 1998. Boundary Waters is book 2, from 1999. Purgatory Ridge is book 3, from 2001.
Blood Hollow is book 4, from 2004. Mercy Falls is book 5, from 2005. Copper River is book 6, from 2006.
Thunder Bay is book 7, from 2007, while Red Knife is book 8, from 2008. Heaven's Keep is book 9, from 2009.
Vermilion Drift is book 10, from 2010, while Northwest Angle is book 11, from 2011. Trickster's Point is book 12, from 2012. Since the list above shows all 22, you can find the rest there.
The list keeps the books in date order, while each title links to its own page. Each book page shows its dates and editions.
God's Country is the latest book with a full release date, out on 18 August 2026. The catalogue marks it as ongoing, yet no next book has a date so far.
The books came out between 1998 and 2026, while their length runs from 256 to 464 pages. That is a run of 28 years.
William Kent Krueger has 26 books on our list. This is the only series by them we track, while the author page lists the rest. We shelve the books under mystery.
About the Cork O'Connor series
Cork O'Connor is the former sheriff of Tamarack County in Minnesota's rugged Iron Lake country -- half Irish, half Ojibwe, deeply rooted in both communities and fully at home in neither. William Kent Krueger builds each novel around a crime that pulls at the seams between Cork's two heritages: tensions between the town and the neighboring Iron Lake Ojibwe reservation, land and resource disputes, old grudges and family secrets that stretch back generations. The wilderness itself -- the Boundary Waters, the deep woods and lakes of northern Minnesota -- is as much a character as any person, and Krueger writes it with the same care Craig Johnson brings to Wyoming or C. J. Box to the Rockies, making this one of the defining modern Upper Midwest crime series.
What distinguishes the series is its willingness to sit with grief, spirituality and moral complexity rather than resolve every case with a clean answer: Cork's Catholic and Ojibwe beliefs both inform how he understands justice, and his family -- wife Jo, and children Jenny, Annie and Stephen -- carry their own long-running arcs, including real tragedy, across the series. Multiple entries have won or been nominated for major genre awards (the Anthony, the Minnesota Book Award), and the series has built a devoted following among readers who want literary, character-driven regional mysteries with real weight behind the plotting.
Frequently asked questions
How many Cork O'Connor books are there?
There are 22 novels as of God's Country, on sale August 18, 2026.
What order should I read the Cork O'Connor books in?
Publication order, starting with Iron Lake. Cork's family history carries significant, sometimes tragic developments across the series that are best experienced in sequence.
Is the Cork O'Connor series finished?
No new book is currently announced following God's Country (August 2026), but William Kent Krueger has published new entries almost every year for over two decades.
Is Cork O'Connor a police procedural?
Not exactly -- Cork is a former sheriff working mostly outside official law enforcement for most of the series, giving the books more of a private-investigator and small-town-mystery feel than a straight procedural.
Do I need to read William Kent Krueger's other books first?
No. Krueger's standalone novels (such as Ordinary Grace) are unrelated to the Cork O'Connor series and can be read independently.
If you like the Cork O'Connor series
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