RIVER DEEP
In Bryan Gruley’s finest novel yet, two women struggle over guilt, redemption and their fraught histories in a story that USA Today bestseller Danielle Girard calls “crime fiction at its most human.”
Late on an icy night, a vehicle plunges off a ridge into the Jako River outside Bitterfrost, Michigan. Twin infant boys drown. The parents survive.
Catriona Dulaney, mother of the twins and a member of one of Bitterfrost’s two most prominent families, is charged with the boys’ murder. Devyn Payne, member of Bitterfrost’s other prominent family, sets out to bring Catriona to justice. But many twists lie ahead in the second novel in the Bitterfrost series, a dark, propulsive tale of deceit and treachery, loyalty and love, and a small town torn in two. “River Deep,” says NYT bestseller Heather Gudenkauf, “is Gruley at his best.”
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BITTERFROST tells the story of Jimmy Baker, who almost killed an opponent in a minor-league hockey fight. Thirteen years later, he's the Zamboni driver in his northern Michigan hometown of Bitterfrost--and the prime suspect in a brutal double murder.
"Visceral, vivid, and suspenseful, Bitterfrost immerses readers in a chilly—and chilling—world of lost dreams and deadly feuds. I was instantly and completely engrossed. Masterfully done."
— Meg Gardiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author
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The STARVATION LAKE series
“Starvation Lake abides, and so do the hardy, gritty, sometimes hapless, and thoroughly memorable denizens of this wonderfully imagined small town.”
Purgatory Bay
“PURGATORY BAY is a knockout! Bryan Gruley has populated this eerie story with a cast of characters who range from menacing to heroic and together create a whirlwind of momentum that makes this one impossible to put down.”
— Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Harry Bosch series
Bleak Harbor
“Bryan Gruley’s Bleak Harbor is an electric bolt of suspense, packed with twists and surprises. Gruley’s plot races along, powered by characters—big and small—who truly crackle. A masterful follow-up to his Starvation Lake trilogy.”
— Gillian Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl
PHOTO CREDIT: Don Rutt
Bryan Gruley
Bryan Gruley is the award-winning, critically acclaimed author of the forthcoming thriller BITTERFROST. “Visceral, vivid, and suspenseful, Bitterfrost immerses readers in a chilly—and chilling—world of lost dreams and deadly feuds," New York Times bestselling author Meg Gardiner says of BITTERFROST. "I was instantly and completely engrossed. Masterfully done.” Gruley's sixth novel was published to critical acclaim in April 2025, followed by sterling reviews for the sequel, RIVER DEEP, published in July 2026. A third Bitterfrost novel, SAVAGE FALLS, is due out in fall 2027.
Gruley is also the author of the Starvation Lake trilogy, the first book of which was nominated for an Edgar Award and won Anthony, Barry, and Strand awards. He has been compared favorably to author Dennis Lehane and Richard Russo.
When he's not making things up, Gruley lives in northern lower Michigan with his wife, Pam, and enjoys ice hockey, golf, guitar, and his five grandchildren. A journalist for over forty years, Gruley shared in The Wall Street Journal's Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and has won numerous awards for his nonfiction.
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Contact Bryan
Fill out the form on this page to contact Bryan directly.
Please direct all media and speaking inquiries to Bryan Gruley’s publicist:
Julia Borcherts
julia@juliapublicity.com
347-762-2108