My name is Brock Justice and I am a veteran homicide detective for the Maine State Police. My father Albert was also a Maine state trooper and recipient of the Legendary Trooper Award. You can only imagine what it was like growing up in that formidable shadow. Albert has retired but like a bad penny he keeps showing up in my current investigation.

Following my forced transfer to the Major Crimes Unit North in Bangor, I was paired with a fledgling detective named Chloe Wright. I’m not sure Chloe trusts me, but that’s okay because the feeling is mutual. What I want more than anything is to return to my previous assignment and the way my life was before I testified at the manslaughter trial of my former partner.

If moving to work in an unfamiliar part of the state wasn’t bad enough, my new boss, Lieutenant Penelope Cumberland, informed me that she doesn’t want me here. In fact, she actively campaigned against my transfer to her unit. Not exactly the most auspicious start to my new assignment. Well, I gotta run. The wardens located a body in Blue Hill. Choe and I have been assigned to investigate.

CRIMSON THAW – A “Detective Justice” Mystery, Book 1
Genre: Traditional Mystery
Release: November 2025
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

A detective’s fall from grace. A rookie’s baptism by fire. A town’s secrets laid bare.

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?

About the author
Bruce Robert Coffin is an international bestselling novelist and short story writer. A retired detective sergeant, Bruce is the author of the Detective Byron Mysteries, the Turner and Mosley Files (with LynDee Walker), and the Detective Justice Mysteries. Winner of Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion Awards for Best Procedural, and Best Investigator, and the Maine Literary Award for Best Crime Fiction, Bruce was also a finalist for the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel. His Anthony Award nominated short fiction has been published in more than fifteen anthologies, including Best American Mystery Stories, 2016. Connect with Bruce at www.brucerobertcoffin.com.