In the quiet hours before dawn, a young victim is found slumped in the doorway of a lakeside pub in northern Maine, his life already slipping away. Nobody knows how he got there, but this is no ordinary death.
Detective Philippa Fraiser uncovers whispers of a hidden drug operation threading through the back roads and ranger stations of the Maine wilderness.
And far from town, a mother sits in remote isolation fearing the worst — her son missing, her instincts screaming that someone out there knows why. As the forest closes in and the network begins to turn on itself, Philippa must confront a truth buried deep in the wilderness.
A tense, atmospheric crime thriller set against the vast forests of northern Maine, Cold Vein follows Detective Philippa Fraiser as she navigates conflicting witness accounts, a vanishing bartender, and a synthetic compound engineered to kill fast. While Philippa hunts for answers, a mother’s desperate search for her missing son pushes her into the same wilderness — and toward the same danger.
As the investigation tightens, secrets buried in the trees begin to surface, revealing a network willing to silence anyone who gets too close. Philippa must rely on instinct, evidence, and the fragile trust of those around her if she’s to uncover the truth before the next victim disappears into the dark.
Perfect for readers of crime thrillers, police procedurals, and psychological suspense, Cold Vein blends procedural precision with wilderness tension and emotional depth. This is the second novel in the Philippa Fraiser series, but can be read as a standalone.
Genre: Mystery
Detective Philippa Fraiser uncovers whispers of a hidden drug operation threading through the back roads and ranger stations of the Maine wilderness.
And far from town, a mother sits in remote isolation fearing the worst — her son missing, her instincts screaming that someone out there knows why. As the forest closes in and the network begins to turn on itself, Philippa must confront a truth buried deep in the wilderness.
A tense, atmospheric crime thriller set against the vast forests of northern Maine, Cold Vein follows Detective Philippa Fraiser as she navigates conflicting witness accounts, a vanishing bartender, and a synthetic compound engineered to kill fast. While Philippa hunts for answers, a mother’s desperate search for her missing son pushes her into the same wilderness — and toward the same danger.
As the investigation tightens, secrets buried in the trees begin to surface, revealing a network willing to silence anyone who gets too close. Philippa must rely on instinct, evidence, and the fragile trust of those around her if she’s to uncover the truth before the next victim disappears into the dark.
Perfect for readers of crime thrillers, police procedurals, and psychological suspense, Cold Vein blends procedural precision with wilderness tension and emotional depth. This is the second novel in the Philippa Fraiser series, but can be read as a standalone.
Genre: Mystery