Home › Fiction › Crimson Thaw

Crimson Thaw

by Bruce Robert Coffin

A murder investigation in Maine’s remote northeast

Regular price $19.77 USD
Regular price $32.96 USD Sale price $19.77 USD
Save 40%

Paperback New

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.

Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

AlbakiReads Editorial

A murder investigation in Maine’s remote northeast

Set in the coastal town of Blue Hill, Crimson Thaw brings a state police investigation into a community where local connections complicate the search for answers. Disgraced detective Brock Justice is assigned to the Major Crimes Unit–North and paired with rookie Chloe Wright. Their first case grows out of a snowmobile retrieval and draws in a town doctor, a sheriff with political ties, a biker gang involved in drug trafficking, and Brock’s father. As the pair sorts through competing loyalties, the case also presses Brock to face the past that led to his exile. Police procedure, small-town secrets, a strained partnership, and questions of trust shape the novel’s central investigation.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers of police procedurals set in remote communities.
  • Readers interested in detective partnerships tested by a difficult case.
  • Readers drawn to mysteries involving small-town connections and concealed loyalties.

Themes

Police investigationProfessional disgrace and redemptionTrust and partnershipSmall-town secretsFamily ties

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A detective's fall from grace. A rookie's baptism by fire. A town's secrets laid bare.
"...reads like the real deal--a tale of trial and redemption..."--Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire Mysteries

In the unforgiving wilderness of Maine, a disgraced detective must confront his past to solve a chilling murder.

Detective Brock Justice's career is on thin ice. Once the golden boy of Maine State Police, Brock now finds himself exiled to the remote northeastern wilderness, punishment for crossing the thin blue line. Assigned to the Major Crimes Unit--North, he suffers the added indignity of partnering with newly-minted Detective Chloe Wright, a rookie with her own hidden struggles.

The pair's uneasy alliance is put to the test almost immediately when a routine snowmobile retrieval in the coastal town of Blue Hill unexpectedly escalates into a full-blown murder investigation. Even as the case exposes the darkest corners of the town, their fragile partnership threatens to undermine the investigation at every turn.

Brock and Chloe's hunt draws them into the lives of several intriguing locals: the town doctor, a biker gang involved in drug trafficking, a politically connected sheriff, and Brock's own father. With each revelation, the line between ally and enemy blurs, compelling Brock and Chloe to question their trust in everyone around them, including each other.

Even as winter's icy grip loosens from Blue Hill, the noose of suspicion tightens. Brock must navigate not only a shaky partnership and a town harboring deadly secrets, but also the shadows of his own past. Can he and Chloe piece together the puzzle before Maine's wilderness swallows them whole?

Retired Detective Sergeant Bruce Robert Coffin delivers a masterful blend of police procedural and small-town intrigue in this page-turning thriller. Perfect for fans of Craig Johnson's Longmire series and C.J. Box's Joe Pickett novels.

_________________________

Praise for Crimson Thaw:
"Will please fans of Paul Doiron's Mike Bowditch series or Archer Mayor's Joe Gunther novels." --Library Journal

"Coffin's experience...lends the book's procedural elements a ring of truth, and he paints cops and suspects alike with a fine brush." --Publishers Weekly

"A superior, Connelly-esque procedural that ratchets up the tension page by page." --Reed Farrel Coleman, New York Times bestselling author of Blind to Midnight

"...Coffin's descriptions are wonderful, evocative even--mud and all." --Katherine Hall Page, MWA's 2024 Grand Master

"Smooth as buttah in the telling, Coffin's layered characters almost leap off the page to sit in your lap." --Tracy Clark, award-winning author of the Cass Raines Chicago Mystery series and the Det. Harriet Foster series

"The pace is break-neck swift..." --Baron Birtcher, award-winning and bestselling author of Knife River

"Brock Justice is a protagonist worth following." --Paul Doiron, author of Dead by Dawn

"...suspenseful and extremely entertaining." --Chris Miller, Best Thriller Books

"One of the most mesmerizing crime fiction series starters I've read in years..." --LynDee Walker, bestselling author of the Faith McClellan series

"...drips with gritty authenticity and razor-sharp detail." --Brian Shea, author of the Boston Crime Thriller series

"...a masterfully creative and riveting tale of suspense." --Raven Award winner Dru Ann Love, Dru's Book Musings
Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews