Bitterfrost - (Bitterfrost Thriller) by Bryan Gruley (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The first in a brand-new crime thriller series from Edgar nominee and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Bryan Gruley. Feisty defence attorney, Devyn Payne faces off against veteran detective, Garth Klimmek as they work to solve a vicious double homicide in their small, icy town of Bitterfrost.

Thirteen years ago, former ice hockey star Jimmy Baker quit the game after almost killing an opponent. Now, as the Zamboni driver for the amateur team in his hometown of Bitterfrost, Michigan, he's living his penance. Until the morning he awakens to the smell of blood . . .

Jimmy soon finds himself arrested for a brutal double murder. The kicker? He has no memory of the night in question. And as the evidence racks up against him, Jimmy's case is skating on thin ice. Could he have committed such a gruesome crime?

As his defence attorney, Devyn Payne and prosecuting detective Garth Klimmek race to uncover the truth, time is running out for Jimmy. Because all he can really be sure of is that he is capable of taking a life. The question is, in his blacked-out state, did he take two?

This gritty drama is the first in the Bitterfrost series, perfect for fans of Dennis Lehane!

Review Quotes

Bitterfrost reads like a terrific seven-game NHL playoff series. The ebbs and flows in the tense courtroom scenes mirror the drama of a game you can't stop watching, with lead changes and potential heartbreak up against a game clock that is winding down-- "Dave Poulin, National Hockey League executive and retired NHL player"

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-- "#1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly on Purgatory Bay"

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, on Purgatory Bay"

A riveting mix of small-town mystery, legal drama, and high-stakes crime thriller. With crisp prose and a vivid portrayal of Michigan hockey culture, Bitterfrost is slick as ice and just as chilling.-- "Tessa Wegert, author of The Coldest Case"

Bryan Gruley is back! As biting and relentless as an Arctic wind, this is the best 'Northern Noir' I've read in many years-- "Steve Hamilton, two-time Edgar Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of An Honorable Assassin"

Bryan Gruley's Bitterfrost is my kind of crime novel . . . propelled by a razor-sharp plot that swirls around things we can all relate to: getting older, opportunities missed, and the uniting power of sports. Gruley's at the top of his game-- "Alex Segura, bestselling and acclaimed author of Secret Identity and Alter Ego"

Gruley has crafted a dark, complex novel with an equally complex and often empathetic villain. Perfect reading for cold, gray days-- "Booklist on Purgatory Bay"

Haunting, atmospheric, and absolutely gut-wrenching, Bitterfrost shows the oh-so-talented Bryan Gruley perfecting the chilling grit of Midwestern noir. With rivetingly authentic settings and brilliantly genuine dialogue, this beautifully written, hockey-centric mystery shows how it is more than a game - it's a lifestyle . . .-- "Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author"

Intense, insular, stunning, Bryan Gruley's Bitterfrost exposes the blood and violence churning beneath the ice surface of a tiny northern Michigan town-- "Reed Farrel Coleman, New York Times bestselling author of Blind to Midnight"

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"