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Bryan Gruley

In small towns, you think you know people. You don't.

  • About
  • Books
    • Purgatory Bay
    • Bleak Harbor
    • Starvation Lake
    • The Hanging Tree
    • The Skeleton Box
  • News & Events
  • Contact
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"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

Bryan Gruley’s Purgatory Bay is a suspenseful and complex adventure filled with fascinating characters, including a cunning and vengeful villain who made my skin crawl. An exciting read with a satisfying ending! — T.R. Ragan, New York Times bestselling author of the Lizzy Gardiner series.

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"A gripping contemporary story of revenge, with scenes accelerating like heartbeats from the grave to its emotional, pulse-pounding conclusion."

—Andrew Gross, New York Times bestselling author of The Fifth Man

“With the enigmatic skill of a guide returning to a place both mysterious and dangerous, Bryan Gruley invites readers back to the world he created in Bleak Harbor. Purgatory Bay is a complex, persecuting and captivating tale. Once again, Gruley creates a fascinatingly twisted family saga that braids the weight of guilt with the torment of grief and the glimmer of hope.”

— Amber Cowie, Amazon Charts bestselling author of Rapid Falls and Raven Lane

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

   

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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.”

—Booklist
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Bryan Gruley

Bryan Gruley is the award-winning, critically acclaimed author of Purgatory Bay, which Michael Connelly says is “impossible to put down.” Purgatory Bay is set in the same fictional Michigan town as Gruley’s previous novel, Bleak Harbor, which Gillian Flynn called “an electric bolt of suspense.”

Gruley also wrote the Starvation Lake trilogy: Starvation Lake, The Hanging Tree, and The Skeleton Box. Gruley’s debut, Starvation Lake, was an Edgar Finalist and won Anthony, Barry, and Strand awards. The Hanging Tree was a #1 Indie Next pick, a Michigan Notable Book, and a Kirkus Best Mystery of 2010. He has been favorably compared to Dennis Lehane and Richard Russo.

Gruley spent more than forty years as a journalist, writing long-form features on a wide variety of topics for The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, and The Detroit News. Gruley shared in The Wall Street Journal’s Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the September 11 terrorist attacks and has won numerous other awards for his writing and reporting. He lives in Florida with his wife, Pam, and enjoys playing ice hockey and guitar.

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Contact Bryan

Fill out the form on this page to contact Bryan directly.

Bryan is represented by Meg Ruley of the Jane Rotrosen Agency.

For publicity inquiries, contact Dana Kaye at Kaye Publicity or Dennelle Catlett of Thomas and Mercer.

Copyright © 2023 · Bryan Gruley