River Deep

by Bryan Gruley

Attorney Devyn Payne is left navigating thin ice as her small-town community fractures in the wake of a shocking crime in River Deep, the second in the Bitterfrost thriller series from Edgar nominee and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Bryan Gruley.

"This first-rate novel is a study in suspense"—Ken Jaworowski, Edgar-nominated author of Small Town SIns

Fighting for the cold, hard truth

Attorney Devyn Payne expects a quieter life when she returns to her hometown of Bitterfrost. Until the bodies of two eight-month-old boys are pulled from the icy depths of the local river. Was it a tragic accident or something more disturbing?

The twins’ distraught parents survived the car crash, but their mother, Catriona Dulaney, was driving. Now she’s charged with killing her babies, and her admission of guilt has leaked online. It should be the most straightforward case Devyn prosecutes all year. And yet, to her, it doesn’t add up.

With time dwindling ahead of the trial, Detective Garth Klimmek questioning Cat’s role in the tragedy, and a suspicious outsider loitering around town, this crime might just be the tip of an iceberg. Devyn’s put two Dulaneys behind bars before. This time, whose side will she take—and what will it cost?

This suspense-drenched drama is perfect for fans of Dennis Lehane, the TV show Mayor of Kingstown, and small-town thrillers by Tim Johnston and John Sandford.

Kindle Edition

Expected publication July 7, 2026

About the author

Bryan Gruley's sixth novel, BITTERFROST, tells the story of Jimmy Baker, a former minor league hockey player who quit the game after almost killing an opponent in a fight. Thirteen years later, he's the Zamboni driver for an amateur team in his hometown of Bitterfrost in northern lower Michigan--and the prime suspect in a brutal double murder. Meg Gardiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author, “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.”

Gruley is also the author of the Starvation Lake trilogy, including his Edgar-nominated debut, STARVATION LAKE, as well as two novels set in Bleake Harbor, Michigan. A lifelong journalist, he shared in The Wall Street Journal's Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He lives in northern Michigan with his wife, Pam.