Cork O'Connor Books in Order
Cork O'Connor by William Kent Krueger contains 22 books, published between 1998 and 2026. The first book is Iron Lake (1998) and the newest is God's Country (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 22
- Published
- 1998–2026
- Confirmed
- 22 of 22 titles
- Pages on record
- 6,528 in 18 of 22 books
- Reading time
- 109–163 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,528 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 18 of 22 titles with a page count on record.
Cork O'Connor is William Kent Krueger's private investigator, working murders and missing-persons cases in northern Minnesota among Ojibwe communities. The series runs to 22 catalogued books published between 1998 and 2026. Iron Lake (1998) opens it, followed by Boundary Waters (1999), Purgatory Ridge (2001), Blood Hollow (2004), Mercy Falls (2005) and Copper River (2006). God's Country is the newest entry, and the series is ongoing.
How many Cork O'Connor books are there?
Cork O'Connor has 22 books, released between 1998 and 2026.
Cork O'Connor Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 22 Cork O'Connor books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1Iron Lake1998 · 464 pages · confirmed 4/419984644/4
- 2Boundary Waters1999 · 416 pages · confirmed 4/419994164/4
- 3Purgatory Ridge2001 · 400 pages · confirmed 4/420014004/4
- 4Blood Hollow2004 · 511 pages · confirmed 4/420045114/4
- 5Mercy Falls2005 · 464 pages · confirmed 4/420054644/4
- 6Copper River2006 · 387 pages · confirmed 4/420063874/4
- 7Thunder Bay2007 · 288 pages · confirmed 4/420072884/4
- 8Red Knife2008 · 320 pages · confirmed 4/420083204/4
- 9Heaven's Keep2009 · confirmed 4/42009–4/4
- 10Vermilion Drift2010 · 304 pages · confirmed 4/420103044/4
- 11Northwest Angle2011 · 357 pages · confirmed 4/420113574/4
- 12Trickster's Point2012 · 329 pages · confirmed 4/420123294/4
- 13Tamarack County2013 · 309 pages · confirmed 4/420133094/4
- 14Windigo Island2014 · 339 pages · confirmed 4/420143394/4
- 15Manitou Canyon2016 · 328 pages · confirmed 4/420163284/4
- 16Sulfur Springs2017 · 320 pages · confirmed 4/420173204/4
- 17Desolation Mountain2018 · 320 pages · confirmed 4/420183204/4
- 18Lightning Strike2021 · 336 pages · confirmed 4/420213364/4
- 19Fox Creek2022 · 336 pages · confirmed 4/420223364/4
- 20Spirit Crossing2024 · confirmed 4/42024–4/4
- 21Apostle's Cove2025 · confirmed 4/42025–4/4
- 22God's Country2026 · confirmed 4/42026–4/4
Cork O'Connor Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Cork O'Connor books run from Iron Lake (1998) to God's Country (2026), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Cork O'Connor in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Cork O'Connor books in order?
You should read the Cork O'Connor books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Cork O'Connor book also stands alone.
What order should you read Cork O'Connor books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with Iron Lake (1998), the earliest published title. After it come Boundary Waters (1999), Purgatory Ridge (2001), Blood Hollow (2004) and Mercy Falls (2005); the numbered table above continues from there.
What is the newest Cork O'Connor book?
God's Country (2026) is the newest Cork O'Connor book released so far.
Is there a new Cork O'Connor book coming?
No next Cork O'Connor book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Cork O'Connor has won
Wikidata records 2 awards for Cork O'Connor. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Anthony Award for Best Novel2006Wonfor Mercy Falls
- Anthony Award for Best Novel2005Wonfor Blood Hollow
Printable Cork O'Connor Books in Order Checklist
A printable checklist of all 22 books in publication order is on the Cork O'Connor reading checklist, with a tick box beside each title.
Cork O'Connor at a glance
- Still running
- Cork O'Connor is still running, with a title published as recently as 2026.
- Release pace
- Cork O'Connor books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 6,528 pages across the 18 of 22 books with a recorded length, a median of 336 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Cork O'Connor books, 8 of 22, were published in the 2010s.
- Corroboration
- 22 of the 22 titles appear in all four independent book listings.
What the Cork O'Connor books are about
19 of the 22 Cork O'Connor books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: private investigators is tagged on 16 of 19. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Private investigators 16 of 19 books
- Minnesota 8 of 19 books
- O'connor, cork (fictitious character) 8 of 19 books
- Mystery & detective 7 of 19 books
- Investigation 5 of 19 books
- Ojibwa Indians 5 of 19 books
- Missing persons 4 of 19 books
- Murder 3 of 19 books
- Crime 2 of 19 books
- Indians of North America 2 of 19 books
- Thrillers 2 of 19 books
More books by William Kent Krueger
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- William Kent Krueger books in order 30 books