Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger is 18th novel in Cork O’Connor Mystery Series. This is a book with incredible story, loveable, believable characters and superb depiction of scene and life before we succumbed to development and urban/suburban degradation. Exceptionally talented, delicate and wise exploration of the manners in which racism becomes implanted in culture and the power of waking up to that. It is a tremendous prequel to the O’Connor stories.
Set in the summer of year 1963, 12-year-old Cork and his friend Jorge Patterson are climbing through the forest as a part of a prerequisite for a merit badge. Their destination was an abandoned logging camp named Lightning Strike. The boys found a dead body hanging from a tree. It was the body of Big John Manydeeds. The evidence suggests that it was a suicide, however all who knew the man suspect something else.
Cork’s dad, Liam O’Connor, is sheriff of Aurora. It is a small town close to the shores of Minnesota’s Iron Lake. As Cork’s dad investigates, Cork and his friends launch their very own investigation. Everything the boys experience chips away at their childhood innocence.
Krueger never disappoints however in this novel alongside a rich, convincing story he gives the readers a brilliant look back. At the childhood of Cork O’Connor as well as at the epic man who was his dad. Try not to miss this deeper understanding of the personality of Cork O’Connor and the companions and places that enhanced the stories brought to us over the course of the years by the expert author, William Kent Krueger.
The characters in Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger are complex and well-formed. The setting is perfect. It is an amazing mystery with inside and out cultural details of a frequently disregarded community. I liked finding out about Cork as a youngster, and it helped me with insights on how he acts in later books. This is an incredible novel that can be read as an independent, regardless of whether you haven’t read other Cork O’Connor novels. In case you’re wanting to begin the series, which I highly suggest, I would recommend reading this book first.
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