Since I was a kid, I've always gravitated toward a good mystery. There's something special about diving deep into a whodunit.
My latest read is set in small-town Michigan, where hockey culture is at the center. Much like Northern Minnesota, hockey is more than a sport; it is a way of life. In fiction, it turns out, hockey can be both the joy and the downfall of small towns.
Bitterfrost by Bryan Gruley isn't just a crime procedural. Murder and dramatic court cases blend with battles for power and hockey championships.
Author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gruley was a recent guest on the KAXE Morning Show.
He said mystery writing isn’t just about clever twists or shocking reveals. What really drives a great story is the emotional truth behind the crime.
“They're humans, so they're flawed," he said, explaining how he believes most readers don’t just want to know who did it, they want to know why.
For him, a mystery is not just about suspense, but the slow unraveling of a character’s conscience. It’s less about hunting a villain and more about uncovering the tangled reasons people do terrible things.
In Bitterfrost, the mystery hinges on a blackout night, two outsiders who end up dead and a main character who genuinely doesn’t know if he’s the one to blame.
We begin the story with Jimmy Baker, a minor league hockey player who ended his career with a violent brawl. Now he spends his nights with Zelda the Zamboni at the local arena as a quiet penance for his actions on the rink. Zelda is a celebrity in her own right, and another reason for fans to cheer for their hometown team.
Defense Attorney Devon Payne is fully involved — not just in Jimmy's court case. She's a hockey player and coach herself, and her family owns the community gathering place, Bitterfrost's hockey arena. She is the voice of the underdog in the town.
Nuanced characters are peppered throughout Bitterfrost.
"I don’t just name a character because I need one,” Gruley told KAXE. “I want them to feel like someone you might’ve grown up with — or at least heard rumors about.”
His philosophy plays out in characters like Ronnie Bergeron, the local bartender who is friends with both Jimmy and Devon. She proves that in small towns, people like bartenders know more than you think.
Detective Garth Klemmeck is also central to this story, a gruff small-town law enforcer with integrity.
Gruley said he didn’t expect to like Garth so much, but the character evolved into someone whose sense of justice is personal. As readers, we come to understand Garth doesn’t rush to judgment. He slowly watches, listens and pieces together the truth of the situation, all with the assistance of an astute wife with opinions he trusts implicitly.
Gruley’s careful attention to names and roles makes the fictional town of Bitterfrost feel lived-in and true. Side characters might hold secrets, regrets or redemption arcs of their own.
“You never know who’ll come back in the next book,” Gruley said with a grin. “So I treat every character like they matter. Because they might.”
Bitterfrost is the first in a new mystery series from Gruley. His Starvation Lake series also focused on small-town Michigan. Gruley has become used to all kinds of reviews and reader responses, some of which might not always be positive. He and his wife maintain a sense of humor through her gifting custom T-shirts adorned with comments like "random suspenseless trash."
The Washington Post's recent review was "Never mind that this is a crime novel, Bitterfrost is all heart."
Listen to our full conversation with Gruley above.
What are you reading? Let us know!
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