William Kent Krueger is an American novelist of mystery and crime thrillers. Krueger is best known for his series of novels featuring the private investigator and former sheriff Cork O’Connor, which are set mainly in the north woods of Minnesota. He attended Stanford University, but his academic path was cut short when he came into conflict with the university's administration during student protests of spring 1970. Throughout his early life, he supported himself by logging timber, working in construction, and trying his luck as a freelance journalist; but he never stopped writing. He wrote short stories and sketches for many years, but it was not until the age of 40 that he finished the manuscript of his first novel, Iron Lake (1999). It won the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, the Barry Award for Best First Novel, the Minnesota Book Award, and the Loft-McKnight Fiction Award. Krueger is married and has two children. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.