A Death in the Deluge

Brian Thiem, a former detective and cold case investigator, returns with a mystery that's intricately built, character-rich, and full of quiet menace. A Death in the Deluge is a must-read for fans of The Thursday Murder Club and Only Murders in the Building.

The water is rising. Time is running out. And somewhere, a killer waits.

"Those who enjoy mysteries that fall between cozy and police procedural will relish Thiem's series." --Library Journal

A .22 bullet to the head. The murderer's calling card, left behind with Kimberly Sheehan's body on Spartina Island. Her fifteen-year-old daughter Emily? Vanished without a trace.

Retired detective Sean Tanner and Sergeant Charlotte "Charlie" Nash are racing against a merciless countdown. This isn't the killer's first victim--fourteen years ago, teenager Ashlee Briggs was abducted and executed with the same weapon. Sean's cold case team, the Mudflats Murder Club, had long believed a serial predator was hunting on their turf. Now they're certain.

A third body drops--same .22 signature--and the pattern is undeniable. As a Category 3 hurricane barrels toward the coast and evacuation orders scatter the population, the island empties fast. But is Emily still on it? With official efforts paralyzed by the storm, Sean and Charlie launch a desperate, off-the-books search--cut off from backup, out of time, and heading straight into a deadly trap where the flood hides every trace, the wind drowns every sound, and survival isn't guaranteed...
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Praise for Brian Thiem:

"Totally charming and completely relatable...I'm dubbing it Only Murders in the Mudflats! What a winner!" --Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author

"A sophisticated, pulsing, persistent police procedural with multiple whodunnits and secrets that come at you from all angles...A highly satisfying read." --Chris Bauer, author of the Maximum Risk series

"...I loved the people, the place, the detection process--and the hint of romance!" --Jane K. Cleland, Agatha Award-winning author

"Sometimes the cop can't quit the job. Sometimes the job won't let them...This is a must read series!" --Bruce Robert Coffin, bestselling author of Crimson Thaw

"Recommend to fans of Richard Osman and Robert Thorogood." --Booklist

Author: Brian Thiem
Publisher: Severn River Publishing
Published: 07/28/2026
Pages: 290
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.20w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781648756962


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 04/01/2026 pg. 47

About the Author
Brian Thiem is the author of The Mudflats Murder Club, the first book in the Mudflats Murder Club series, as well as Red Line, Thrill Kill, and Shallow Grave. In his previous life, he spent 25 years with the Oakland Police Department, much of it working Homicide, and retired as a lieutenant. He's also an Iraq War veteran, retiring from the Army as a lieutenant colonel after 28 years of active and reserve service. He holds an MFA in creative writing and is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Island Writers Network. He lives with his wife, yellow Lab, and Tonkinese cat in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where he's also a member of the sheriff department's Cold Case Team, consisting of retired law enforcement professionals from around the nation who examine unsolved murders.