The Skeleton Box
The third novel in the award-winning Starvation Lake series finds Gus Carpenter faced with a new case that reveals a haunting secret from his own family’s past.
Mysterious break-ins are plaguing the small town of Starvation Lake. While elderly residents are out playing bingo, someone is slipping into their homes to rifle through financial and personal files. The “Bingo Night Burglaries” leave the entire town uneasy.
When a break-in escalates to murder, Gus Carpenter, editor of the Pine County Pilot, is forced to investigate the most difficult story of his life. Not only is the victim his ex-girlfriend Darlene’s mother, but her body was found in the home of Bea Carpenter—Gus’s mother. Suffering from worsening dementia, Bea remembers little of the break-in.
Gus sets out to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when the story leads him to a lockbox his mother has kept secret for years, Gus doesn’t realize that its contents could forever change his perception of Starvation Lake, his family, and the value of the truth.
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Bryan Gruley
Bryan Gruley is the award-winning, critically acclaimed author of the forthcoming thriller BITTERFROST. “Visceral, vivid, and suspenseful, Bitterfrost immerses readers in a chilly—and chilling—world of lost dreams and deadly feuds," New York Times bestselling author Meg Gardiner says of BITTERFROST. "I was instantly and completely engrossed. Masterfully done.” Gruley's sixth novel was published to critical acclaim in April 2025. A sequel, River Deep, is scheduled to be published in July 2026.
Starvation Lake
Starvation Lake consists of three books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
