Lightning Strike is the eighteenth Cork O’Connor mystery by William Kent Krueger, but don’t hesitate to pick it up if you haven’t read the other books. The sensitive, moving book is a prequel, set in the summer of 1963 when Cork is twelve. Krueger himself said the book is meant to introduce and draw readers into the series. It worked for me. I’ve read Krueger’s standalone novels, Ordinary Grace and This Tender Land. This book ranks with them as a perceptive coming-of-age novel, a poignant story of a father and son.
The book actually begins in January 1989 when Cork O’Connor is the new sheriff of Tamarack County, Minnesota. His father, Liam O’Connor, had been sheriff there twenty-five years earlier, and Cork feels the responsibility to the people who elected him, and to his father’s reputation. His father gave his life for his job, something that the twelve-year-old boy didn’t understand.
In the summer of 1963, Cork and his friend, Jorge, went on a ten-mile hike, heading to Lightning Strike, the location where a cabin had been hit by lightning and burned. The Ojibwe said the cabin should not have been built on sacred land, and that’s why it was hit by lightning. But, Cork and Jorge faced something even worse when they found the hanging body of Big John Manydeeds. While Cork would never forget the sight of the corpse, a man he admired and respected, it was the enormous shadow, a darkness, that would haunt him.
Big John Manydeeds’ death would haunt Liam O’Connor as well. The first impression, with whiskey bottles around, and at John’s cabin, was that Manydeeds committed suicide. But, the Ojibwe would not accept that verdict. Liam was a white man with an Ojibwe mother-in-law, which made him an outsider to the local white community as well as to the Ojibwe. No one would talk to him, so he struggled to find answers. It was Cork who offered clues as to the truth behind the man’s death.
There’s so much more I could say about this book, however the plot development is part of the depth and beauty of the story. This is the summer Cork struggles. He feels an emptiness, and has questions about death. He has questions his father can’t always answer, and, at times he disagrees with his father’s decisions. Colleen, Cork’s wise mother, understands the struggle to find the truth, a truth that is sometimes in the heart, while Liam O’Connor is a straightforward man who has to have logical answers. In doing so, Liam faces hostility from everyone, even his own son at times.
Kent Krueger’s Lightning Strike is the story that made Cork O’Connor into the man he is in the mystery series. He walks a fine line between his Irish and Ojibwe ancestry, “Always a spirit divided, always trying to figure out how to put those two worlds together.” The summer of 1963 was a turning point in Cork O’Connor’s life. He’ll never be the same, and he rejects his father’s career in law enforcement. However, a wise Ojibwe sees Cork’s future differently, seeing him as “One who stands between evil and his people.”
To understand Cork O’Connor, his relationship with his home and his community, his relationship with his father, his beliefs, his heart, it’s important to read Lightning Strike. This book is the gateway to the Cork O’Connor series.
William Kent Krueger’s website is https://williamkentkrueger.com/
Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger. Atria Books, 2021. ISBN 9781982128685 (hardcover), 400p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a .PDF in order to moderate a panel.
I love your review! I confess that I have already read this as well, and I found it just as compelling Kent’s excellent standalone novels and a fabulous introduction to the entire series. I would be surprised if it doesn’t garner award nominations. Kent is physically touring for the book, so signed copies will be out there starting next Tuesday at Once Upon a Crime.
Thank you, Sandie. I loved the book, and I think it’s an excellent introduction to the series. I hope he takes care of himself on book tour!
Unfortunately he’s not coming west.
By which I mean Portland.
Nice review, Lesa. I will definitely read this as an introduction to the series. (Up to now I have only read his standalones.)
Thank you, Jeff. Like you, I’ve only read his standalones. But, this book is an excellent introduction to Cork O’Connor and his background. Plus, I just like coming-of-age stories.
Ooooh! Thanks for the tip for the new Cork. I listened, or re-listened, to the entire series in order. (It took a year.) I can’t wait to listen to this one!
You’re welcome, Nann. You’re going to love it! And, you only have a week to wait for the audio!
(Audio release is August 24. I’ve pre-ordered it.)
What a wonderful review, Lesa. Thank you.
I have read, and re-read, the entire Cork O’Connor series and have loved every one. The character development is impeccable as we follow Cork and his family and watch them all grow. His descriptive phrases and sense of place are magical. I am so happy to see him finally getting the attention he has so deserved.
And I am waiting for Lightning Strike to pop up on my Kindle so I can settle in with a cup of coffee and enjoy getting to know the young Cork.
You’re going to love Lightning Strike, Kaye! And, you’re going to love the young Cork. Unlike you, Sandie, and Nann, I haven’t read the series, so I found this to be the perfect starting place. You’re so right about Kent Krueger’s descriptive phrases and sense of place. Truly magical.
Me too, Kaye, and I’m eager for this one, coming 8/24, the same day as the new Louise Penny. What a double!
For Real!!!
I only got about halfway through the series before I stumbled upon 2016’s The World of Cork O’Connor. Took a pause to forget the spoilers, but will definitely read the prequel. Thanks for the excellent review. I saw a Poisoned Pen interview a while back where he discussed how Lightning Strike came about after he was well into the series.
The stand alone, Ordinary Grace is the first one I read and possibly still my favorite.
Ordinary Grace is my favorite as well, MM, but I think this one is going to impress you.
I can’t find that interview! Anyone have a link? Please?
Rick, Here’s the link -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fiRfZoqd5E
Thank you, Lesa.
Just 7 more days!
Krueger is one of only three authors I buy upon publication.
Who are the other two, Rick?
Louise Penny and Christopher Fowler, who is the author of the Brant & May books. Unfortunately, Fowler’s final book is just out in UK and will be published in the US in December.