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Bleak Harbor A Novel edition by Bryan Gruley Literature Fiction eBooks

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Bleak Harbor A Novel edition by Bryan Gruley Literature Fiction eBooks

Bleak Harbor marks the return of Bryan Gruley, and not a moment too soon. I was a big fan of his Starvation Lake trilogy, but the last book in that series, The Skeleton Box, appeared in 2012, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting his next book ever since. It turns out, though, that the wait was well worth it. Bleak Harbor is a fast-paced, taut thriller that grabs the reader from the opening lines and refuses to let go until the final scenes have played out in the wake of a great climax.

At the center of the book is a troubled family living in Bleak Harbor, Michigan, a small town where the highlight of the summer tourist season is the annual Dragonfly Festival. Carey Peters, the wife and mother, is descended from the town’s founder. Her mother, Serenity Bleak, lives in a huge home overlooking the town, isolated from the rest of the residents, both geographically and economically. The Bleaks made a huge fortune from their various enterprises in the town, but the rest of the citizens have not done nearly as well, and many of them are experiencing hard times as several of the Bleaks’ businesses have closed, leaving their former employees high and dry. Carey is employed by a firm in Chicago and commutes back and forth to Bleak Harbor two or three times a week to see her family. She is estranged from her mother who has cut Carey out of her will.

Carey’s husband, Pete Peters, was once a high-flying commodities trader in Chicago, but he hit a bad streak and lost his job. He convinced Carey to move back to Bleak Harbor where he has opened a medical marijuana shop and is struggling to get the business up and running. Both Carey and Pete have dark secrets that they are hiding from each other, and their relationship is strained for a variety of reasons.

Carey’s son—Pete’s stepson—is fifteen-year-old Danny. Danny is on the autism spectrum and, while brilliant in some respects, can also be a “difficult” child. One thing that Carey and Pete do agree on is that they both love Danny very much. Danny and Pete have an excellent relationship, centered on fishing and other activities that they do together.

The book opens on the eve of Danny’s sixteenth birthday as the annual Dragonfly Festival is about to begin. Pete arrives home expecting to take Danny fishing. He finds that Danny has prepared the sandwiches and drinks they will be taking with them, but the boy himself is nowhere to be found. Shortly thereafter, Pete receives a photo of Danny bound to a chair with what appears to be a bruise on his cheek. Accompanying the photo is a demand for a huge ransom and with that, the book is off and running.

The plot is intricately designed; the characters, even the minor ones, are sharply drawn, and the tension is palpable throughout as Carey and Pete and a variety of law enforcement officials work to save Danny from a particularly fiendish and clever antagonist. In particular, as he demonstrated in the Starvation Lake series, Gruley excels at describing life in a small town like Bleak Harbor, where all sorts of secrets and machinations are at work beneath the surface. The setting is expertly rendered and becomes a character in and of itself. All in all, this is a very entertaining novel and the reader leaves the book very much hoping that it will not be another six years before we hear from Bryan Gruley again. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.


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Bleak Harbor A Novel edition by Bryan Gruley Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews

It is the first book in a series but it may be read on its own - no big cliffhangers. The story is about kidnapping of 15 years old semi-autistic boy, Danny. The main plot is very complex, involves numerous people and several surprising twists and it is really very good. All characters are very interesting, although not very likable, with the boy and his mother placed at the top of unlikable list. But I loved following their complicated lives with new layers revealing themselves in consecutive chapters.

So why 4 stars instead of 5? My main problem with this book was that it did not read smoothly. There are too many reasons for that to list all of them here. But one of them was that author, trying very hard to keep the reader in the state of the constant suspense, sometimes build it in the wrong places. I was repeatedly distracted by small things which were probably meant to keep my interest up but, instead, caused the reader’s fatigue.

Take for example town council meetings. All protagonists and the whole town know why they are important and the meetings are mentioned again and again but only about ~25% into the book the reader learns what they are about. Or, on a smaller scale the rusty lunchbox sitting on the table, and obviously out of place, that is mentioned several times. Everybody in the room knows what it contains (nothing shocking) but it takes multiple pages before reader learns what it is. And another one toward the end of the book, the testimony of one of the characters is delivered in Spanish and not translated. I could guess what she said but not everybody knows even basic Spanish so…why? The main plot holds enough suspense by itself and it is sometimes hard enough to keep track of all multiple characters, so why try to confuse reader even more? The names and nicknames of all male family members starting with “J” did not help either. I also had problems visualizing the topography of the place.

I guessed part of the mystery at ~20% of the book (it was revealed to readers at ~30%) and I knew who kidnapper was at about 50% but it did not spoil my pleasure of reading. I knew “who” but I still wanted to know “how” and see all loose ends tighten up. Not all of them were. For example; I never learned why search parties missed Danny nor fully understood what caused animosity between mother and grandmother of the boy. Maybe these will be answered in the next book.

Bottom line I liked the story but it did not keep me glued to the pages. Several times I just got tired by trying to keep all protagonists straight in my mind. But maybe I was just too preoccupied by the last real-life events. I will most likely buy another book by this (new to me) author if I see it on sale but I will not shed 20+ bucks for a hard copy, as I do for my favored authors.
PS. I just bought “Starvation Lake” (it was on sale ;)).
It's about time he put out another book. The starvation lake trilogy seems like ages ago. This one is a twisty mystery set in southwest Michigan not far from my home in Kalamazoo. I did not see the ending coming!!!
It’s rare to find a novel with a truly original plot. The author brilliantly unfolds a complicated series of twists that surprises but doesn’t confuse the reader. Plenty of action with an unusual mixture of human kindness, frailty and coldness. Hard to put down once you start reading.
A disappointing First Reads. Unlikeable characters, convoluted plot and unnecessary vulgar language. Too bad because the plot description had promise.
Far as the second chapter. Poorly written. Not engaging. Maybe it got better but I just couldn’t stick it out. I’m about to give up on First Reads.
Interesting story with lots of unexpected twists, but I personally found parts of it to be vulgar ... Too raunchy for an old lady like me
Bleak Harbor marks the return of Bryan Gruley, and not a moment too soon. I was a big fan of his Starvation Lake trilogy, but the last book in that series, The Skeleton Box, appeared in 2012, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting his next book ever since. It turns out, though, that the wait was well worth it. Bleak Harbor is a fast-paced, taut thriller that grabs the reader from the opening lines and refuses to let go until the final scenes have played out in the wake of a great climax.

At the center of the book is a troubled family living in Bleak Harbor, Michigan, a small town where the highlight of the summer tourist season is the annual Dragonfly Festival. Carey Peters, the wife and mother, is descended from the town’s founder. Her mother, Serenity Bleak, lives in a huge home overlooking the town, isolated from the rest of the residents, both geographically and economically. The Bleaks made a huge fortune from their various enterprises in the town, but the rest of the citizens have not done nearly as well, and many of them are experiencing hard times as several of the Bleaks’ businesses have closed, leaving their former employees high and dry. Carey is employed by a firm in Chicago and commutes back and forth to Bleak Harbor two or three times a week to see her family. She is estranged from her mother who has cut Carey out of her will.

Carey’s husband, Pete Peters, was once a high-flying commodities trader in Chicago, but he hit a bad streak and lost his job. He convinced Carey to move back to Bleak Harbor where he has opened a medical marijuana shop and is struggling to get the business up and running. Both Carey and Pete have dark secrets that they are hiding from each other, and their relationship is strained for a variety of reasons.

Carey’s son—Pete’s stepson—is fifteen-year-old Danny. Danny is on the autism spectrum and, while brilliant in some respects, can also be a “difficult” child. One thing that Carey and Pete do agree on is that they both love Danny very much. Danny and Pete have an excellent relationship, centered on fishing and other activities that they do together.

The book opens on the eve of Danny’s sixteenth birthday as the annual Dragonfly Festival is about to begin. Pete arrives home expecting to take Danny fishing. He finds that Danny has prepared the sandwiches and drinks they will be taking with them, but the boy himself is nowhere to be found. Shortly thereafter, Pete receives a photo of Danny bound to a chair with what appears to be a bruise on his cheek. Accompanying the photo is a demand for a huge ransom and with that, the book is off and running.

The plot is intricately designed; the characters, even the minor ones, are sharply drawn, and the tension is palpable throughout as Carey and Pete and a variety of law enforcement officials work to save Danny from a particularly fiendish and clever antagonist. In particular, as he demonstrated in the Starvation Lake series, Gruley excels at describing life in a small town like Bleak Harbor, where all sorts of secrets and machinations are at work beneath the surface. The setting is expertly rendered and becomes a character in and of itself. All in all, this is a very entertaining novel and the reader leaves the book very much hoping that it will not be another six years before we hear from Bryan Gruley again. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.