Publication Day Review: Bitterfrost by Bryan Gruley

 

Have you ever woken up and not had a clue what happened? I don’t mean a few minutes of disassociation, but full on many minutes of having no clue what in the heck happened or why you are in the shape you are in? I’ve done it several times thanks to concussions.

 

The first, and probably the most traumatic and the probable source of some of my health and cognitive issues these days, was back in elementary school many years ago. My parents had always said that I should not play in the pickup football games before school. That I would get hurt. I did not listen. One morning, the last memory I have is running to intercept a bigger kid and make the tackle. I’m told that I got him and his buddy, in anger, drop kicked my head afterwards as I laid on the ground.

 

I lost over an hour and a half where I have no memory of what went on. It is incredibly scary to have no idea what in the heck happened.

 

Former hockey player Jimmy Baker finds himself in that situation as Bitterfrost by Bryan Gruley begins. He awakens to a pinging noise in his head and the smell of blood. He is on his kitchen floor just before four in the morning, missing a shoe, with torn up knuckles, and a host of other issues. He is still wearing his IceKings jacket, now with a very bloody sleeve. He knows he wore that jacket the night before, had it on when he left the arena, and while he had his one drink at the Lost Loon Tavern. He knows he spent some time there as it is his nightly ritual, after he puts the Zamboni away, to lock up the place and hang out at the Lost Loon Tavern. He has one drink and goes home after a while.

 

But, something clearly happened. Not only is he wearing evidence that something happened, there is even more evidence outside his home, and in his truck. Something really bad happened. He has no clue at all what. With his record, that makes everything so much worse.

 

Meanwhile, the state police get a call that there is an abandoned pickup truck nearby. Upon arrival, they find that somebody failed at trying to burn the truck. The same truck that has a lot of blood in it. The same truck that is dumped in close range of Jimmy Baker’s house.

 

The truck is just inside the jurisdictional boundary of city of Bitterfrost, Michigan, and that means Detective Garth Klimmek is on the case. A case that gains urgency as the son of a wealthy man has gone missing. Politics, media attention, and the finding of a body means the pressure is on to solve the case fast.

 

What follows is a highly entertaining read that this review only scratches the surface. Multiple storylines, personal agendas, family secrets going back decades, and more is at work in this read that one hopes is the start of a new series from this very talented author. If you have read Bryan Gruley before (Starvation Lake, Bleak Harbor, and others), you know that the complicated mystery will include a lot of references to hockey, wealthy families and their power, and old murder cases, are always the backbone of his books. Such is the case here as is a lot more besides. Much of which should not be discussed so as to not ruin the read.

 

In short, make sure you read Bitterfrost by Bryan Gruley. The read is very much worth your time and is strongly recommended.

 

Amazon Associates Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3RsDU9s

 

My reading copy came through NetGalley from the publisher, Severn House, with no expectation of a review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025