Crime, Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

Hello fellow Crime, Mystery, and Thriller readers! This discussion is about Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger your hostess is Skye
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Information about Spoilers

Please note if you have not finished reading the book spoilers are permitted in this discussion from the start.
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Summary

William Kent Krueger joined the ranks of today's best suspense novelists with this thrilling, universally acclaimed debut. Conjuring "a sense of place he's plainly honed firsthand in below-zero prairie" (Kirkus Reviews), Krueger brilliantly evokes northern Minnesota's lake country -- and reveals the dark side of its snow-covered landscape.
Part Irish, part Anishinaabe Indian, Corcoran "Cork" O'Connor is the former sheriff of Aurora, Minnesota. Embittered by his "former" status, and the marital meltdown that has separated him from his children, Cork gets by on heavy doses of caffeine, nicotine, and guilt. Once a cop on Chicago's South Side, there's not much that can shock him. But when the town's judge is brutally murdered, and a young Eagle Scout is reported missing, Cork takes on a mind-jolting case of conspiracy, corruption, and scandal.

As a lakeside blizzard buries Aurora, Cork must dig out the truth among town officials who seem dead-set on stopping his investigation in its tracks. But even Cork freezes up when faced with the harshest enemy of all: a small-town secret that hits painfully close to home.

If I hadn't been committed to this as a group read I might have abandoned it early on. But it definitely gets better as it goes along, and I really enjoyed the ending. For much of the book the female characters are drawn as fairly standard tropes - the warm-hearted love interest (that you just know you shouldn't get attached to), vs. the hard-driving, successful lawyer wife who loses interest in our hero when he is struggling emotionally. That said, I found the characterization of Jo in the final scenes to be satisfying. Overall the plot is solid, but Krueger is at his best and most distinctive describing the northern Minnesota landscape and culture. Since I read this during a cold and snowy early March in Western New York state, that part resonated with me!

I enjoyed this book. The plot was great, the characters believable and well developed. The First People characters, elements, and spirituality were a nice touch. There were enough characters that it kept me guessing as to who was involved and whay.

I did figure a few things out ahead of time, namely that Jo & Sandy were an item, and I knew when Molly picked up the phone and the line was dead that she was going to die. I was totally surprised that Wanda killed the judge, and that Paul killed Lytton, I didn't see that coming at all.

I'm still wondering who baby Makwa's father is... I wonder if we will find that out later in the series? And of course will Jo and Cork get back together?

Do you think Saint Kawasaki might be the father? Didn’t Lytton have compromising pictures of Wanda and him?

The picture was at the mission with Wanda and a man, but the head swere cut off by the blind. He knows it's Wanda because of the tattoo but I think if it were the St. Kawasaki that would be too easy... but then again it could be him.

You're right! I jumped to a conclusion, but misdirection about the man in that picture would be just the kind of thing Krueger would use to keep the plot moving - and keep us reading. :-)

I just finished and I’m still feeling sad about Molly. I agree when the phone was dead I knew she was in trouble, didn’t think her life was in jeopardy.

I felt there was too much description for my tastes.