Bryan Gruley Books In Order

Publication Order of Starvation Lake Mystery Books

Publication Order of Bleak Harbor Books

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Bryan Gruley is a reputed American writer and journalist, who is known for writing suspense, thriller, and mystery novels. He is particularly popular for writing the Starvation Lake Mystery series. His second novel series, the Bleak Harbor series, is also gaining a lot of popularity. Gruley is a joint winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his work in the field of journalism. For his first novel, he was nominated for the prestigious Edgar Award by the MWA. As of today, Gruley works for Bloomberg News as a reporter. His work requires him to write long-form articles that appear in the Bloomberg Businessweek magazine. Previously, he was employed with The Wall Street Journal for a period of 15 years, of which he was the Chicago bureau chief for 7 years. During his time at the Journal, Gruley was involved in covering the breaking news segment.

One of the important breaking news covered by him is the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center in the US. For this particular coverage, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, which he shared with his staff. Gruley’s coverage was cited as insightful and comprehensive. It was executed under many risky circumstances and recounted the events of the tragic day as well as its implications for the country’s future. Gruley wrote his first mystery novel, Starvation Lake, in 2009. It features a story set in a fictional town named Starvation Lake located in Michigan. After the successful release of this novel, Gruley followed it up with 2 sequels in 2010 and 2012 respectively. Gruley finished the series with just three books and moved on to write a new series. Author Gruley is a native of Detroit and has five siblings. He was born on November 9, 1957. When he was a boy, he used to play ice hockey a lot. He enjoys playing the sport even today. Gruley always cheers for his home team, the Detroit Red Wings. He finished his schooling from the Detroit Catholic Central.

After graduating from school, Gruley moved to a new cottage located near Bellaire in 1971 along with his family. The cottage is now a vacation home for the 6 siblings, who often visit there to spend some relaxing time. Before going on to work as a journalist, Gruley completed his graduation from Notre Dame University and obtained a degree in journalism. Gruley first started his journalism career by working for a local newspaper in Bellaire in 1978. He had joined Antrim County News as a summer intern. Currently, Gruley resides on Chicago’s North Side along with his loving wife Pam and 3 grown children. He likes to spend his spare time in the company of his friends and families. Occasionally, he plays hockey. Sometimes, he loves playing guitar while enjoying a beer with his close friends. He is quite happy with the way both his careers have shaped up over the years. Gruley is enjoying his time as an author and is looking forward to entertaining his fans with many more thrilling novels in the future. He says that he has a number of stories lined up on his head and needs to put them on paper before they get replaced with other stories. Gruley is grateful to his fans in all parts of the world for liking his work and supporting him through their kind words.

The Starvation Lake Mystery series written by author Bryan Gruley is comprised of a total of 3 books released between 2009 and 2012. Each and every novel of this series features the main protagonist in the role of Gus Carpenter. Gus is depicted as a reporter and editor living in Michigan’s lower peninsula and works for a small newspaper agency. The debut book of this series is entitled ‘Starvation Lake’. It was released by the Gallery Books in 2009. The setting of this novel is done in Michigan in the year 1998. Initially, it is depicted several pieces of a damaged snowmobile wash up near the Starvation Lake in the dead of the winter. The locals believe that the snowmobile belongs to the legendary hockey coach Blackburn, who died in an accident a few years earlier. But, they are not able to understand how the snowmobile washed up near the crumbling town when Blackburn’s accident took place on another lake located 5 miles away. When nothing concrete is established, a rumor spreads that there are mysterious tunnels under the lake. Some even believe that some foul play has taken place in coach Blackburn’s death.

Gus Carpenter has recently come back to Starvation after he failed to make it big in the city. When Gus was a boy, he used to be the goalkeeper in his team. Due to one small mistake committed by him on the field, his team was not able to win the championship. As a result, the coach’s dream was shattered and the entire town had become Gus Carpenter’s enemy. Now, Gus hopes to set things right this time by investigating the case and revealing the fact related to his former coach’s death. But, he seems worried about the unsettling holes in the past of the town. Gus has a gnawing suspicion that the holes might conceal some disturbing and dark secrets. If these secrets are revealed, the people close to him might face the danger of losing their lives.

The second volume of the series is known as ‘The Hanging Tree’. It was also published by Gallery Books in 2010. This novel features the lead characters in the form of Gracie McBride, Gus Carpenter, Darlene Esper, Soupy Campbell, etc. The novel opens by showing that a wild girl named Gracie McBride, who had moved out the town 18 years ago, is discovered dead shortly after returning home. It is suspected that Gracie committed suicide. As Gracie’s death sends shock waves in the entire town, Gus Carpenter prepares to investigate the matter and find out the reality behind Gracie’s death. He is helped by his old crush and current girlfriend named Darlene Esper, who is also the deputy sheriff of the Pine County.

During the initial investigation, Darlene and Gus are not able to make out whether Gracie’s ended her own life or someone killed her. In addition to this important investigation, Gus has a number of other things to worry about. His employer wants to fire him and the locals are angry with him for his recent story that stopped the construction of a new hockey stadium. In order to know more about Gracie’s past, Gus visits Detroit, where she lived in the 18 years that she was out of Starvation Lake. While trying to dodge his own humiliating past in the city, he gets his hands some important secrets related to Gracie’s past that help him solve the case.

One Response to “Bryan Gruley”

1. Marty Siuda: 10 months ago

   I’ve read his first series and loved each one. I often research places etc. of books I read and so Starvation Lake intrigued me. I’m planning to go there and to the Hide A Way Bar for lunch. Did he frequent the bar while writing the story? Are his books or photo there? Are any of the places he mentions there, like Audrey’s, but maybe a different name. It’s fun to read a book that you can imagine being there at some of those places. He’s a great writer. Thank You.

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