The River Runs Black

James Patterson meets Louise Penny: New York’s Thousand Islands are set to lose their battle against drugs in this pulse-pounding police procedural from acclaimed author Tessa Wegert.

“An edge-of-your-seat mystery” (Booklist on In the Bones)

A small town on the water where things aren’t as perfect as they look . . .

After the recent death of a teenager by overdose, a record drug seizure along the Canadian border is a game changer for New York State’s criminal investigation team. The detectives are relieved that the haul will never make it to the idyllic small-town streets of Alexandria Bay.

But drugs are still circulating, and the lab results confirm it: the cocaine that killed the teenager and the cocaine from the bust are not the same.

Investigator Tim Wellington and his team seem to be chasing a network of ghosts who use the North Country as their criminal playground.

How long will it be until another Thousand Islands youth becomes not just a victim, but a target? Because the dangerous players won’t shy away from violence when protecting their valuable goods—even if it means gambling with innocent lives . . .

This twisty mystery coupled with heart-pounding suspense will appeal to fans of the Chief Inspector Gamache Mysteries and the Alex Cross thrillers, as well as books by Meg Gardiner, Ann Cleeves, and Ruth Ware.