Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the copy of Purgatory Bay. I wish I had read the first book in the series, and now I will have to go find it. If I had read the first book this one would have made more sense and I would have been able to keep the characters straight earlier. Jubilee was such an intriguing character, it was hard to keep remembering how young she was. I appreciated the use of technology, even though some of it kind of lost me. The story started out slowly so I wasn’t really engaged until the last half of the book, but then I loved it! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Purgatory Bay grabs you from the beginning and draws you in to the story. It is the story of a young girl who makes a choice based on the circumstances foisted upon her. Or does she? Life is full of choices, but sometimes the choices are not easy ones. What do you do when your choice affects the lives of your family? Gruley writes a well-researched thriller that will make you think about the characters and the decisions made by them. Lots of twists and turns with great character development. Truly an enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

It's an interesting story that caters to the old adage of revenge is best served cold.
I wasn't aware this book was #2 in a series, but that fact didn't detract from my reading experience, so kudos to the author for that.

This is my First book by this author.. I got through 1/3 of the book and had to call it quits.. I just could not get into it.. Going back and forth between then and now and new Characters in almost every chapter , so many to keep track of , Personally this book was just not for me. Maybe it is because I have not read the first one yet. I will keep it and hopefully go back and reread it ..

The 2nd in the Bleak Harbor series, readers are returned to the western Michigan that has lost its industrial roots but reborn as a summer resort on the shores of Lake Michigan. The City's newest and most secretive resident, Jubilee Rathman, is the lone survivor when her family is murdered by the mob several years earlier. She has since secluded herself in Bleak Harbor, never known to leave the compound on Purgatory Bay that is her home. But she's been busy during her years of seclusion, and her plan is about to be hatched. Meanwhile, reporter Mikey Deming returns to her childhood home in Bleak Harbor while her daughter competes in a hockey tournament only to discover her sister missing. While Mikey and Police Chief Katya Malone investigate the disappearance, strange murders occur across he state, including a reporter and former co-worker of Mikey's and an attempt on the daughter of a high profile Detroit mobster. Mikey and Katya have to work fast to find her sister and figure out what she has to do with the murders in Detroit, and why they seem to be targeting Mikey and her family.

Jubilee Rathman's life is forever changed when her parents and sister are brutally murdered by the Detroit mob. Her younger brother Joshua is horribly burned in the fire. Twelve years later, Jubilee lives in a virtual fortress on Purgatory Bay near Bleak Harbor, Michigan plotting revenge on the people she considers responsible. Among her targets are former reporter Michaela “Mikey” Deming who co-wrote a story that she believes led to her family being targeted for death. With the help of assistant Caleb, Jubilee kidnaps Mikey’s blind sister Ophelia the night before Mikey arrives in town with and daughter Bridget for a hockey tournament. With a set of deadly drones, Jubilee and Caleb target family members of the state police, prosecution and the mob family for death.

Bleak Harbor police chief Katya Malone is determined to solve this case but she is up against a high-tech killer that will do anything to get her revenge.

Not as enjoyable as the first book, Bleak Harbor but still a good read.

I received an eARC from Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer with no requirements for a review. I volntarily read this book and provided this review.

Purgatory Bay by Bryan Gruley is the second instalment in the Bleak Harbor series but I had no problem reading this as a standalone, having not yet read the first book. Teenager Jubilee Rathman’s promising life as she knows it changes forever overnight when her family is brutally murdered by order of the Detroit mob. Twelve years later, she sets in motion a well-prepared plan for revenge against the people she believes are responsible for the loss of her family. The book alternates between the time of the murders and the present when Jubilee’s plan begins to be deployed with ruthlessness and anger against those she believes to be her enemies. Who are these people? How did they cause Jubilee’s huge loss? Are they responsible for her tragedy? The plot of this mystery is original and the action never lets up. Who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned revenge yarn. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars
M/F Thriller

This is really a story about Jubilee Rathman. Her father worked for a notorious mob boss and when it becomes apparent that he might want out, his entire family is killed, leaving behind Jubilee and her brother, Joshua. Joshua is badly injured in the attempt on their family and Jubilee is left with the responsibility of helping her brother and moving forward.

When tragedy strikes, Jubilee is unable to move forward with much. She is so wrapped up in her anger and hurt that it consumes her. She can only focus on her next mission and how it will help her feel that she has gotten what she needs. Jubilee's plot is incredibly complex and while she might have had a great plan, her execution is not on point.

While Gruley writes an intriguing story, I found it somewhat confusing at times. There are so many different characters that make up this plot and it was not always apparent who was talking. Also, while I can understand Jubilee's vengeful heart, the protagonist also has some sort of trauma in her past, but we never truly see what it was or get the full picture. Also, there is an underlying love triangle/story that seemed like it was just in there but had no real substance.

This was entertaining and well written, but it was slightly jumbled and the ending was somewhat anticlimactic for me.

Triggers: Mob life, Addiction

Riveting and intriguing story about a woman who is trying to get revenge for her murdered family! She is on a diabolical mission to make those she feels responsible pay and it leads us down a road filled with twists and turns! Excellent read!

4.5 Stars

This is the second book in the Bleak Harbor series by Bryan Gruley. Funny thing about this was that it didn’t feel like a second book. It felt like a standalone.

This book was very good but in the beginning it was a little hard to follow. The POV character kept jumping around between Jubilee, Michaela and Katya. I was letting my Kindle read the text to me and since I didn’t see the text shift, I think that was why it was more confusing for me. If I had been reading the text, I think it would have been easier to navigate since you get so many more visual clues with text formatting and chapter breaks.

Basic premise is that a woman is dealing with the loss of her family from twelve years ago. They were murdered and the police didn’t exactly treat her very nicely back then. Plus she blames reporter, Mikey, for ratting them out and causing the mob hit on their family. This leaves the girl with quite a grudge. In the twelve years after the hit, Jubilee has set up quite a compound. She starts her revenge by kidnapping a blind woman named Octavia.

Once the story gets rolling and all the players are on the table, the story is much less confusing. It is exciting and edge of your seat thrilling. It is also a quick and satisfying read too. Definitely a series you need to keep your eye on.

If you love a good mystery suspense thriller, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Well written and interesting but not my favorite book.
It felt a bit complicated and too many characters. Hard to connect and follow at times. But still enjoyable and a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

A stellar follow up in the Gruley's latest series. New characters that are even more interesting than the last time around. Grabs you from the start and doesn't let go. Gruley is quickly competing with Connelly as my favorite fun cabin read. Can't wait for the next one in the series.

Jubilee Rathman lives is her mansion on Purgatory Bay in Michigan. Once a rising soccer star, her entire family was wiped out by a Detroit crime family, the Petruglias. Jubilee has spent the last 12 years, plotting her revenge. And she unleashes hell on everyone who was involved, including the newspaper reporters who exposed her family, or was that the way it really happened? Michaela Deming, better known as Mikey, travels to Bleak Harbor, near Purgatory Bay for a hockey tournament with her daughter, Bridget. She quit the newspaper business after Jubilee's family was massacred. Katya Malone, sheriff in Bleak Harbor, has her own demons to wrestle. This book was slow going at the beginning, with four or five separate plot lines careening over the pages. However, as it became clear what was happening, the adrenaline rush set in.

How NOT to write a book: Introduce around a hundred characters, introduce drones with human names to get even more, jump around in time to make things a little complicated, and add a lot of useless descriptions before trying to get to any kind of point. Anyone who reads this book entirely is a very patient person.

This is a complicated novel of revenge which at times has too much going on and at others is really creepy. Jubiliee and her brother Joshua have been plotting against Mikey, the reporter they blame for revealing the fact that their father was a cooperating witness against the Detroit mob- a revelation which led to a night of awful violence and death. They've become super villains of a sort- creating their own world where the main goal to is to make Mikey pay and they choose to use her young daughter as part of their plot. It's told from multiple perspectives, including that of the police chief Katya Malone. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a page turner.

Innovative crime thriller

This is billed as the second in the Bleak Harbor series. I haven’t read the first book but on reading the blurb, although the location is similar, the characters are different so I can probably safely report that each can be read as a stand-alone. There were certainly no instances in Purgatory Bay which referred back to events not previously covered. Incidentally, I do wonder on occasions whether those who write the blurbs have ever actually had sight of the books they comment on, let alone have read them. The blurb on this one is in my view misleading whilst at the same time giving away quite a bit of an interesting plot.

Jubilee Rathman is one of the central figures. She lives almost as a recluse on Purgatory Bay in a fenced enclave. Her family was murdered over a decade previously and as a result, she was unable to further her ambition to attend Princeton. Other major characters include an investigative reporter Michaela (Mikey) Deming who has also experienced tragedy in her life and Katya Malone, the local police chief who struggles with her own demons. All these and several other more minor characters are linked and as the plot unfolds it’s clear that there is little love lost between several of them.

It took some time to get used to the regular switch in times although they were central to an understanding of past events and added key pieces to the plot jigsaw. I am not a great fan of this mechanism as I find it disruptive and annoying on occasions but it’s a legitimate way to move the story forward and update the reader.

One major failing, in my opinion, was the absence of any character with whom I could relate. The very best novels of this type demand the reader invests in one or, on occasions, more of the characters and this was lacking in this thriller. However, on the plus side (and it’s a big plus) was the introduction of an innovative instrument of death which was realistic and bang up to date. I also thoroughly enjoyed the way in which the character of Jubilee was portrayed such that the reader’s opinion of her changed radically during the unfolding of the plot. The shadowy figures of the Petruglia mob family were also a threat but were kept very much in the background so that the focus remained on the activity around the bay.

On the basis of Purgatory Bay, I shall take the opportunity to read Bleak Bay (such depressing names) and will look out for others by the same author.

mr zorg

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book for review

This book has SO MUCH going for it! The writing is top-notch (narrative, dialogue, depiction of the location); the characters are colorful and vivid; the suspense is there from the first page and builds steadily.

And yet I almost didn't stay with it -- it took me awhile to settle into the story. It was not the alternating timelines or viewpoints, which I enjoy if they are handled well (as they are in Purgatory Bay.) Looking back, I think I was seeking a single character to relate to, and that didn't happen. Still, at somewhere around the halfway mark, the plot hooked me securely and I had no more thoughts of abandoning the story.

I liked the intelligent use of technology, and the journalism sub-theme. I wish that the tragically-dead-family-member device hadn't been used so consistently; at first it was confusing and then became simply annoying.

Haven't read anything else by Bryan Gruley, but this was strong enough to send me after the Starvation Lake series the other reader/reviewers have referenced. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance readers copy.

Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Cold

Twelve years before the novel timeline, Jubilee, suffering from a hangover, is sitting in an iron chair in a state police office. She is repeatedly asked for her driver’s license, but she is not cooperative and wants to know why she is here. Finally, one officer shows her a picture of her dead near naked younger brother sprayed out near a pond.

Then, the main storyline shifts to current novel timeline and to a Mikey talking her daughter while driving to the daughter’s ice hockey tournament. The daughter is quite close to her blind aunt. As they drive by the aunt’s house, the aunt doesn’t appear to be home. A car pulls out in front of them and blocks every attempt to pass it. After that, they proceed to the Mikey’s father’s home where they were staying during the tournament. The main storyline splits into another thread with Jubilee and her brother who are preparing drones with various deadly weapons attached. More deaths occur seemingly unrelated to everyone but Jubilee and her brother. The novel has three basic groups of main storyline threads. The first consists of chapters in the voice Jubilee and her brother where you learn what they are doing and why. The second tread is primarily in the voice of Jubilee twelve years earlier that provides the genesis of her motives in the current timeline. The last thread is told through chapters in the voice of Mikey, her daughter, the blind aunt, the aunt’s current boyfriend, the chief of police, the mayor, a newspaper reporter, and Jubilee’s longtime lawyer. This last thread group presents the storyline by observing the events as they occur and as those characters try to find out what is happening.

From the above, you can gather that this novel has many moving parts as it jumps to a new character for each chapter. I found that the first 50% of this novel to be difficult reading because of this choppy narrative. It only was until the last half of the novel that the main storylines started to coalesce that the novel became easier to read. Then, my attention was captured, and I started to enjoy reading the novel. The first half for me was three stars and the last half five stars.

The B-storyline was very extensive for Mikey, her daughter, Jubilee and her brother. Almost all of the other characters also had a decent B-storylines. It made me think that this was the first novel in the series because of the depth of these B-storylines, but it is the second novel in the series. I have not read the first novel, but it seems that the only thing in common is the location of the novel. I could be wrong here.

This book does not have any sex scenes in it, but I noticed a little more vulgar language and references than in the novels I usually read. This may trigger some readers who may be sensitive to the use of language. There is some violence described as it happen but none of it was titillating or overly graphic.

By the end, all questions I had while reading the novel were tied up and explained. I especially enjoyed the last two chapters. While the novel did end on a high note; you will have to endure the challenging start. Above I rated the two halves. Now I rate the whole novel with four stars. I do recommend reading this book. Be persistent, you’ll enjoy it.

I have received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Thomas & Mercer with an expectation for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

I chose this book as the summary sounded interesting…a female police chief investigating the case of a missing woman. I enjoy stories that have a strong female lead, but had I not had the summary to go by, I would have had no clue what this book was about. Jubilee, a young girl was traumatized by the murder of her parents and sister and plots her revenge years later. The beginning was strange as the police treated Jubilee as if she were a suspect rather than a young girl who had just lost her family. From there, the story got more confusing and disjointed. I kept going back to try to connect with the story and characters but was unable to do so. I could not recommend this book. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

I have been a big, big, big fan of Bryan Gruley's novels and looked forward to his latest effort, Purgatory Bay.Mr. Gruley does not disappoint! I loved his " Starvation Lake Mystery" series but didn't get the same "shiver down my leg" with his novel " Bleak Harbor. " Bleak Harbor is set in a new universe as Purgatory Bay and distinct from Starvation Lake. This story has a stronger sense of suspense than the former story. Just flat out enjoyed the suspense ride.
Two points of note: (1) "Thanks" to Net Galley for the chance to preview and enjoy Purgatory; and (2) please Mr. Gruley return to the world of Starvation Lake for your next story! Better yet, imagine a crossover story between your two distinct but fascinating worlds!