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.

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

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

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.

• 🌐 bryangruley.com

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• 🐦 X/Twitter

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📚 About AT THE FOUNT OF CREATION:

For four hundred years, the world’s remaining Orisha have fought to survive the rapaciousness of the soul-stealing Godkillers and the charismatic words of the singular, mysterious figure who leads them, known as the Teacher. Now they seek to kill the one person whose existence defies their very mandate.

Now that Ashâke carries within herself the spirits of the surviving Orisha, she is on the hunt for allies who can help her defeat the encroaching army of Godkillers. But their influence is everywhere, and no one is immune—not even Ashâke. If she is to succeed, Ashâke will need to answer the question the Godkillers pose—are the Orisha even worth saving?

At the Fount of Creation on Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/10588/9781250908032

📖 About Tobi Ogundiran

Tobi Ogundiran is the award-winning author of Jackal, Jackal, a collection of 18 dark and fantastical tales. He has also been nominated for the British Science Fiction Association, Nommo and Shirley Jackson awards. His short fiction has been featured on the hit podcast LeVar Burton Reads, but also appears in journals such as Lightspeed, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and in several Year's Best anthologies. Born and raised in Nigeria, he now lives and works in the US South.

• 📸 Instagram: @tobi_ogundiran

• 🐦 Twitter/X: @tobiogundiran

• 🌍 Website: https://www.tobiogundiran.com

Tobi Ogundiran, Jackal Jackal, At the Fount of Creation, African fantasy, Orisha mythology, Nigerian authors, Godkillers, dark fantasy, award-winning author, speculative fiction, LeVar Burton Reads, Lightspeed Magazine, Shirley Jackson Awards, Nommo Awards, British Science Fiction Association, fantasy podcast, epic fantasy, diverse fantasy, Read Between the Lines, Molly Southgate

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