Part of Cork O'Connor
First published 2021
Cork O'Connor discovers the corpse of a man he looked up to in the woods near Aurora, Minnesota. The summer of 1963 turns dark for the twelve year old when this shocking find kicks off a chain of disturbing events. His father serves as Aurora's sheriff and must investigate what appears to be a clear suicide case. All the evidence points in that direction. Cork cannot accept this conclusion. He starts his own search for the truth while his father conducts the official inquiry. The boy questions everything he once believed as more secrets surface in their small town by Iron Lake. Father and son find themselves caught between logical evidence and moral conviction. They must decide whether to follow the facts their minds present or trust what their hearts tell them is just.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, mystery
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, introspective, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, moral-conflict, unreliable-truth
Setting: Aurora, Minnesota, Iron Lake
Period: 1963, Summer
385 pages · Hardcover · Atria Books
Content warnings: death, suicide