Bitter Fall by Bruce Robert Coffin Book Review

About the Book:

On a moonless stretch of backcountry road, Detective Brock Justice stares down at a crime scene that refuses to play by the rules. A woman lies dead, the apparent victim of a lethal roadside crash―until a stab wound is found hidden beneath her clothing. Two causes of death. Zero easy answers.

Reunited with his partner, Detective Chloe Wright, Justice begins pulling at threads too many people want left alone. The victim had secrets―the kind worth killing for. And each suspect carries enough baggage to sink a body in Moosehead Lake. An ex-boyfriend with a violent past. A married fitness trainer with too much to lose. A combat veteran living off the grid, haunted by ghosts of his own.

As golden leaves turn blood-red against pewter skies, Justice is fighting more than just a killer. The fallout from testifying against a fellow trooper clings to him like a bad debt, and someone inside the department is making sure he pays for it.

Then a game warden’s trail camera captures something deep in the woods. But it isn’t just a clue―it’s a warning.

My Review:

This is another good police procedure featuring a good lead in Detective Justice. He is a bit of a renegade, often going his own way, much to the dismay of his superiors. I like the strength of the setting with a little history of the area and good descriptions.

This complicated murder takes quite a bit of untangling. There is a nice twist at the end as well as some good suspense involving Brock's partner, Chloe. Brock is still being hounded by his testifying against another police official. That nemesis is close by here. We hope Brock will finally come out in the end the good guy he is.

This is a rewarding police procedure. While it is the second in a series, it reads well on its own. To understand Brock's obsession with nailing the police officer from the previous experiences, the first novel in the series should be read.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

This book releases January 13.

You can read my review of the first book in this series, Crimson Thaw.

About the Author:

Bruce Robert Coffin is an international bestselling novelist and former detective sergeant with more than twenty-seven years in law enforcement. At the time of his retirement, from the Portland, Maine police department, he supervised all homicide and violent crime investigations for Maine’s largest city. Following the terror attacks of September 11th, Bruce spent four years working counter-terrorism with the FBI, earning the Director’s Award, the highest honor a non-agent can receive.

Bruce is the author of the Detective Byron mysteries, The Turner and Mosley Files (with bestselling author LynDee Walker), and the forthcoming Detective Justice mysteries (November 2025).

Winner of Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion Awards for Best Procedural, and Best Investigator, and the Maine Literary Award for Best Crime Fiction Novel, Bruce was also a finalist for the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel. An Anthony Award nominated short fiction writer, his stories have been published in more than fifteen anthologies, including Best American Mystery Stories 2016.

Severn River Publishing, 406 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)