Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger

Things haven't been the same for Cork O'Connor since that day at the lake when a protest went bad and he ended up shooting a man who came to kill others.  After that incident, in which a man from the local Indian tribe who Cork considered a father was killed, he lost his job as the sheriff of the small Minnesota town in which he lived.  After the loss of his job and his friend, nothing seemed to make sense and he soon lost his marriage as well.  He isn't sure he really loves his wife, Jo, but he knows he wants to be back in his children's lives.  In short, he isn't sure where life will take him next.

When a local judge is found dead in his office and a young man is discovered missing on the same day, something stirs in Cork.  Although the judge's death is ruled a suicide, Cork isn't sure that's the truth.  The judge had a reputation as being just on the edge of corruption, and his son is the newly elected Senator from the area.  He also is Cork's wife's lover.

Cork starts to look into the incident, and soon finds more than he ever would have expected.  Before things are done, there is a blackmail ring, white supremacists trying to force their ideas on the local population, money scams at the local Indian casino and maybe a couple of murders.  Cork keeps digging even after he is warned off.  Can he find the truth and regain his purpose in life?

The Cork O'Connor series is one of the best in the genre with over eighteen novels so far.  William Kent Krueger writes so descriptively that even those who have never visited the North and its lakes get a real feel for the area.  The mysteries are satisfyingly tied together and the characters introduced form a firm basis for the following novels in the series.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.