📝 Episode Summary:

In this episode of Read Between the Lines, host Molly Southgate sits down with Bryan Gruley, award-winning author and former journalist, to talk about his latest suspense novel, Bitterfrost — set to release on April 1, 2025.

Bitterfrost follows Jimmy Baker, a former minor-league hockey player turned Zamboni driver in his small Michigan hometown, who finds himself entangled in a gripping double-murder investigation. As past violence resurfaces, Baker must confront guilt, memory, and mystery in a town frozen in more ways than one.

Bryan shares:

• The real-life inspiration behind Bitterfrost

• How hockey culture and crime fiction collide

• Writing deeply atmospheric Michigan noir

• His journey from journalism to bestselling author

• What fans of Starvation Lake and Bleak Harbor can expect next

If you love literary thrillers, small-town secrets, and complex characters, this conversation is a must-listen.

 

🔗 Links & Resources

Purchase Bitterfrost and all of Bryan's books at Bookshop.org: 

https://bookshop.org/a/10588/9781448315406

👤 About Bryan Gruley:

Bryan Gruley is the Amazon Charts bestselling and award-winning author of Bitterfrost, the Starvation Lake trilogy (Starvation Lake, The Hanging Tree, The Skeleton Box), and two novels set in the fictional Bleak Harbor (Bleak Harbor and Purgatory Bay).

A journalist for over 40 years, Bryan shared in the Pulitzer Prize awarded to The Wall Street Journal for its coverage of the September 11 attacks. A graduate of Notre Dame, avid hockey player, and amateur musician, Bryan lives in northern Michigan with his wife, Pam.

🔗 Connect with Bryan Gruley:

• 🌐 bryangruley.com

• 📘 Facebook

• 🐦 X/Twitter

• 📷 Instagram

🔑 Keywords:

Bryan Gruley, Bitterfrost, Starvation Lake, Bleak Harbor, Michigan fiction, murder mystery, hockey thriller, crime fiction, small-town mystery, journalist turned author, literary suspense, pulp noir, cold case, Zamboni mystery, thriller 2025, Amazon Charts author, Edgar finalist

📢 Hashtags:

#ReadBetweenTheLines #BryanGruley #Bitterfrost #CrimeFiction #HockeyThriller #SmallTownMystery #MichiganNoir #LiterarySuspense #MurderMysteryBooks #PulitzerPrizeJournalist