William Kent Krueger Books in Order
William Kent Krueger is a New York Times bestselling American crime author best known for the Cork O’Connor mysteries and the standalone novels Ordinary Grace, This Tender Land, and The River We Remember. Ordinary Grace won the Edgar Award for Best Novel and six other mystery awards in 2014. His last thirteen novels have all been New York Times bestsellers.
The Cork O’Connor books are set mainly in northern Minnesota, around fictional Aurora, Tamarack County, the Iron Lake Ojibwe community, and the Boundary Waters. Cork is a former sheriff and private investigator of Irish and Ojibwe heritage. He investigates in the areas around the town, nearby communities, and the lakes and forests of the Northwoods. Cork’s family, his old friend Henry Meloux, and the people of Aurora continue across the series, so events in one book often affect later stories.
This page lists all William Kent Krueger books in order, including the Cork O’Connor series, the late-published prequel Lightning Strike, standalone novels, The Levee audio novella, short stories, collections, and Cork O’Connor companion books.
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Latest William Kent Krueger Books
Publication date: August 18,2026
Where to Start with William Kent Krueger
→ New to the Cork O’Connor series? Start with Iron Lake (book 1), which introduces Cork after he has lost his job as sheriff and become separated from his family.
→ Want to meet Cork as a boy? Lightning Strike is set in 1963, when twelve-year-old Cork becomes involved in a death being investigated by his father, Tamarack County sheriff Liam O’Connor. It works independently, but the author numbers it as book 18 and it has more meaning after some familiarity with Cork’s later life.
→ Prefer historical standalones? Start with Ordinary Grace, set in southern Minnesota during the summer of 1961.
→ Want a journey story set during the Depression? Try This Tender Land, which follows four children travelling by canoe through Minnesota in 1932.
Cork O’Connor Series (Books in Order)
The Cork O’Connor series follows former Tamarack County sheriff and private investigator Corcoran “Cork” O’Connor in fictional Aurora, Minnesota, near the Boundary Waters. Cork is part Irish and part Ojibwe and he previously worked as a police officer on Chicago’s South Side.
His cases often begin close to home, then lead him beyond Aurora into remote parts of northern Minnesota. Cork’s knowledge of the area helps him search places that outsiders may not understand or even know how to find. The series also follows Cork’s family as it changes over the years. His children grow up, his work changes, and his friendship with Henry Meloux becomes important in several books. Each novel wraps up a case, but his personal life and past choices follow him throughout the entire series.
- 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
- Sulfur Springs, 2017
- Desolation Mountain, 2018
- Lightning Strike, 2021
- Fox Creek, 2022
- Spirit Crossing, 2024
- Apostle’s Cove, 2025
- God’s Country, 2026
Reading notes:
- Lightning Strike is a prequel set in 1963, shortly before Cork turns thirteen. His father, Liam O’Connor, is still sheriff. The novel was published after Desolation Mountain and is officially numbered as book 18.
Other Cork O’Connor Books
- The William Kent Krueger Reader’s Companion, 2012
- Corpus Delicti, 2018 (Cork O’Connor short story)
Standalone Novels
- The Devil’s Bed, 2003
- Ordinary Grace, 2013
- This Tender Land, 2019
- The River We Remember, 2023
Short Stories and Novellas
Short Story Collections
Short Story Anthologies
- Meeting Across the River: Stories Inspired by the Haunting Bruce Springsteen Song, 2005
- Silence of the Loons: Thirteen Tales of Mystery by Minnesota’s Premier Crime Writers, 2005
- These Guns for Hire: New Stories About Love, Lust, and Murder, 2006
- Death Do Us Part, 2006
- Twin Cities Noir, 2006
- Resort to Murder: Thirteen More Tales of Mystery by Minnesota’s Premier Writers, 2007
- Once Upon a Crime: An Anthology of Murder, Mayhem, and Suspense, 2009
- Crimes by Moonlight: Mysteries from the Dark Side, 2010
- Fifteen Tales of Murder, Mayhem, and Malice: From the Land of Minnesota Nice, 2012
- Writers of Spring: Stories and Prose, 2012
- USA Noir, 2013
- Games Creatures Play, 2014
- Echoes of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon, 2016
- The Best American Mystery Stories 2017, 2017
- Blood Work: Remembering Gary Shulze and Once Upon a Crime, 2018
- Odd Partners, 2019
- Deadly Anniversaries, 2020
- Bullets and Other Hurting Things: A Tribute to Bill Crider, 2021
- Thriller, 2023
Non-Fiction Books
William Kent Krueger Biography
William Kent Krueger is an American crime and mystery author, best known for the Cork O’Connor series and several historical standalone novels.
Official website: williamkentkrueger.com
William Kent Krueger was born in 1950 in Torrington, Wyoming, and spent a lot of his childhood moving around the western United States. Before finishing high school, he had lived in eleven houses across eight cities and six states. He was raised largely in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and says that becoming a writer was the one ambition that remained with him during those times.
He entered Stanford University in 1969. During his first year, he took part in a protest occupation of the university president’s office over Stanford’s connection to military research during the Vietnam War, so he lost his scholarship and was expelled, having to leave the university after that year.
Over the next several years, he logged timber, worked in construction, and published articles as a freelance journalist. He and his wife, Diane, moved to St. Paul in 1980 so that she could attend law school. Later he became administrator of the research laboratory of the University of Minnesota where he researched child development.
During those years, he began getting up at 5:30 in the morning to write before work. He usually went to the St. Clair Broiler, a neighbourhood café that opened at 6:00, and wrote with a pen in wire-bound notebooks in booth number four. He began with short stories, several of which were published or received awards.
He started the manuscript that became Iron Lake in the spring of 1992. It was eventually published in 1998, and it introduced former sheriff Cork O’Connor and the fictional northern Minnesota town of Aurora. It received the Loft-McKnight Fiction Award before publication and later won the Anthony and Barry awards for Best First Novel, as well as a Minnesota Book Award.
The author continued the Cork O’Connor series while also writing standalone novels. His 2013 novel Ordinary Grace won the Edgar, Anthony, Barry, Macavity, Dilys, Squid, and Silver Falchion awards. Its companion novel, This Tender Land, was published in 2019 and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly six months. The River We Remember, published in 2023, was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. His books are usually set in the American Midwest and focus on crime, community, and local history.
William Kent Krueger writes full time, and he has kept most of his original routine. He still gets up early, goes to a local coffee shop, and writes his first drafts by hand in a notebook. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.
William Kent Krueger Awards and Honors
Awards
- Iron Lake – Loft-McKnight Fiction Award (1998)
- Iron Lake – Anthony Award for Best First Novel (1999)
- Iron Lake – Barry Award for Best First Novel (1999)
- Iron Lake – Minnesota Book Award (1999)
- Blood Hollow – Anthony Award for Best Novel (2005)
- Mercy Falls – Anthony Award for Best Novel (2006)
- Copper River – Minnesota Book Award (2007)
- Thunder Bay – Dilys Award (2008)
- Thunder Bay – Minnesota Book Award (2008)
- Ordinary Grace – Edgar Award for Best Novel (2014)
- Ordinary Grace – Anthony Award for Best Novel (2014)
- Ordinary Grace – Barry Award for Best Novel (2014)
- Ordinary Grace – Dilys Award (2014)
- Ordinary Grace – Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel (2014)
- Ordinary Grace – Squid Award for Best Mystery Set in the United States (2014)
- Ordinary Grace – Silver Falchion Award for Literary Mystery/Suspense (2014)
- Sulfur Springs – Lefty Award for Best Mystery Novel (2018)
- Lightning Strike – Lefty Award for Best Mystery Novel (2022)
- Tucson Festival of Books Founders’ Award (2026)
Nominations and Shortlists
- Iron Lake – Dilys Award (1999)Boundary Waters – Dilys Award (2000)
- Purgatory Ridge – Barry Award for Best Novel (2002)
- Purgatory Ridge – Dilys Award (2002)
- Mercy Falls – Barry Award for Best Novel (2006)
- Thunder Bay – Anthony Award for Best Mystery Novel (2008)
- Red Knife – Anthony Award for Best Mystery Novel (2009)
- Red Knife – Barry Award for Best Novel (2009)
- This Tender Land – Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel (2020)
- The River We Remember – Edgar Award for Best Novel (2024)
- The River We Remember – Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery, Macavity Awards (2024)
- Spirit Crossing – Barry Award for Best Mystery Novel (2025)
I started reading a few of these books(not in order) and whenever I needed a good read. After many losses in my family and friends, and several moves later, I was back in Minnesota and near a library. I checked out every book of yours they had and could order. When they ran out, I started ordering them in what order there was left for me. I’m down to my last four, and I began to of (what next.). I’d considered writing to your publisher to send a message to you to please start another. When I went online to order two of the last four, I was elated to see you have another coming out this Fall. Thank you so much. I feel part of the O’Conner family. I wish you a long life and many more books.
Do the Cork O’Conner books need to be read in order or can they be stand alones?
Will you be writing anymore Cork O conner books?
Thank you for writing incredible books. I remembered hearing you speak of writing about 10 years ago at a marriage retreat. At the time I had two kids under 10. The thought of reading for pleasure was comical. Hearing you speak, I could tell you had a heart for adventure. I tucked your books in my mind for “someday”… Well now I’m a partial empty nester and that “someday” has arrived.
My only regret was having waited to read your fantastic writing that feels like I’ve stepped right into the scene. There’s so much joy reading your books, I almost am sad to flip that last page.
Thank you for your art, your writing that so delights and inspires this middle aged mom and all who read your work!