Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger Rocks!

by Jackie King

Long before I decided to write, I was a reader. I still am. I love everything about all books. Especially mysteries.

Books made of paper rock: their smell, their feel, their bright covers. Most of all, I love losing myself in a new world created by a gifted writer.

Virtual books rock: the ability to read the story immediately; the capability to make print larger for my aging eyes; the convenience of being able to read in dark places. Most of all, I love disappearing into a new domain shaped by a creative author.

William Kent Krueger

Currently I'm living in a biosphere molded by William Kent Krueger. His first words quickened my pulse, and instantly I cared about a teen-aged boy he had created. Here’s that paragraph from the prologue:

Cork O'Connor first heard the story of the Windigo in the fall of 1965 when he hunted the big bear with Sam Winter Moon. He was fourteen and his father was dead a year.

The pages flew and my knuckles turned as white as the Minnesota blizzard where the story was set.

Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger

The book itself features Cork as a grown man. Part Irish, part Anishinaabe Indian, Corcoran "Cork" O'Connor is the former sheriff of Aurora, Minnesota. His heart, wounded by a recent tragedy, seems unable to heal. Needless to say, I'm now in love with Cork, so Joe Pike can eat his heart out. (smile)

I bought this book at Killer Nashville in 2014, along with ORDINARY GRACE, which won the Edgar and other prestigious mystery awards. Krueger spoke at the conference and I was impressed by this kind, smart and eloquent man.

 

Ordinary Grace--an extraordinary novel

I read ORDINARY GRACE, first, since this book had won several prestigious mystery awards. ORDINARY GRACE, an exceptionally fine literary novel, wasn't a mystery.  At least not to me. Because of this, I was disappointed. (Will all those who loved the book as a mystery  please forgive me?) I do like literary novels, just not when my appetite is set for murder and mayhem.

This week IRON LAKE rose to the top of my To Be Read pile. And wow! This book is an outstanding mystery, and I'm loving it. As Hank Phillipi Ryan said at the same conference, "Every mystery needs to have three things: hook, stakes, and beautiful Writing. IRON LAKE has all three.

Mystery novels by William Kent Krueger will never again stay in my TBR pile for such a long time.

Writing Fiction Isn't Rocket Science

By Mark W. Danielson

I just returned from another wonderful Men of Mystery event. For authors and attendees, this Irvine, California event is always fun, and as a general rule, is the only author event I attend. Here, two keynote speakers and nearly fifty mystery authors enjoy lunch with hundreds of avid mystery readers. Over the years, I have listened to many wonderful keynote speakers, but this year’s William Kent Krueger was particularly delightful. Perhaps it was because he and I share the same beliefs that writing should be fun, that it is nothing more than storytelling, that the motivation for writing should come from the joy of it, not for financial gain. And should financial success come your way, then congratulations, but don’t forget why you started writing. Kent is a very approachable and equally likeable gentleman whose genuine smile and easy manner certainly add to his success.

But not every author shares Kent’s jocular demeanor. Some want you to believe only a select few can create interesting stories. Honestly, anyone willing to put in long solitary hours and subject themselves to harsh criticism CAN write. But regardless of how much effort one puts in, professional writing does not come easy in this constantly evolving marketplace. While vampires may currently be in vogue, ten years from now these stories may not be marketable. If you want to be published, know the market before you begin the first chapter.

With my Gypsy lifestyle, flying to California to take part in Men of Mystery can be challenging, but it is worthwhile because I enjoy meeting people like Kent and reuniting friendships, and you can't put a price on that. Authors like Kent reaffirm that men (and women) authors who have achieved financial success and commercial notoriety still enjoy writing as much as they did when they first started. And while they take their craft seriously, they don’t view themselves that way. Folks, writing fiction isn’t rocket science, it’s just words, so keep your writing accomplishments in perspective and enjoy the ride. Doing so will ensure your characters have hearts as big as your own.

Has William Kent Krueger Written a Cozy?

By Chester Campbell

I just finished reading Northwest Angle, Krueger's eleventh Cork O'Connor novel. It's the first one of his I've read. From comments I've seen on DorothyL, it isn't typical of his series about the former Chicago cop now dabbling in the PI business. Apparently the publisher wasn't sure exactly what to call it. The promotional blurb on the back cover of the Advance Reading Copy ends with this:

"Part thriller, part mystery, part exploration of the human heart, Northwest Angle is a dynamic addition to William Kent Krueger's critically acclaimed, award-winning series."

The title comes from the setting of the book, a remote area of Minnesota that juts out of Canada and includes islands in Lake of the Woods. That is one reason I question whether it could be called a cozy. The normal definition of the subgenre includes the setting in a small community where everybody knows everybody. Although the area of the Northwest Angle isn't really small, it's sparsely populated, giving the same effect as a small community. Everybody gets around on boats.

Cozies are supposed to be short on sex and violence. The only sex here took place before the story began, when a young Ojibwe girl got pregnant. Most of the violence comes about from the forces of nature, a destructive storm called a derecho. Other than that, there are lots of threats but only a couple of shooting scenes. There's no more actual violence than takes place in my Greg McKenzie series, which a few reviewers have called cozy.

Of course, I happen to disagree with that characterization of the McKenzie books and also would not hang that moniker on Krueger's latest. Northwest Angle is mostly the story of Cork O'Connor's family problems and how they are resolved. There is a mystery at the core of it, but the novel is heavily weighted on the characters. It is well-written and suspenseful. Makes me want to go back and read some of his earlier books.

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