I began work on the manuscript for my first Cork O’Connor novel, Iron Lake, in the spring of 1992. I had two thoughts in mind back then. First, I wanted to write something that was good enough to be published. And second, I wanted to write something that I would be proud of. One thing I didn’t have in mind was creating a long-running series. God’s Country is my twenty-second Cork O’Connor novel. I am, quite frankly, amazed by this.

I’ve often been unkind to Cork in these stories. He gets beat up a lot. He’s been shot a couple of times. He’s lost a wife and a daughter. It would be understandable if his view of the world were to become a bitter one. But somehow he’s always managed to hold onto a profound belief in the grace of God, the Creator, the Great Mystery.

God’s Country, however, is a dark story, one that challenges Cork physically and spiritually. It often seems to me that the world we live in is growing more sinister by the day, the cruelties multiplying. More and more I find myself questioning who we are as human beings. And like so many mindful people, I ask myself, how do we come through the fire of anger and the chaos of hate to a place of healing?

This is the profound question Cork must answer in God’s Country. He’s always found solace in the natural world, in the beauty and spirit of the great Northwoods he calls home. In this story, Cork’s long journey into that vast wilderness will challenge his belief in both God and the healing power of Nature. For Cork, it will be a deep look into the dark potential of every human heart, including his own.