The River Runs Black

Disclaimer: Thanks to the author for gifting me a paperback copy of this book. I'm sharing my opinions of this book voluntarily.

The River Runs Black is a strong follow-up in this newer 'suspense meets small-town police procedural' series that began with In The Bones. This series is an offshoot of the Shana Merchant series (which I highly recommend you read) and I enjoyed seeing characters from that series in this book.

It's been a hot minute since I read In The Bones so it took me a bit to remember who was who but Wegert leaves reminders of who and how everyone is connected so readers needn't worry. Reading the first book will give you background on the characters, but this book could be read as a standalone.

The impetus of this book is the overdose death of a local teenager that leaves the small community in the 1000 Islands region reeling. After a big cross border drug bust, police are surprised they didn't find the source of the drugs. Add in a missing woman from a visiting luxury yacht, small-town corruption and you've got an ominous and twisty read where small-town secrets are revealed, families are shattered and readers will be staying up waaaay too late reading to see if Investigator Tim Wellington and his team can crack this case.

Wegert excels at atmospheric tension-building suspense and has created a strong cast of characters who will do whatever they can to protect their community. I eagerly look forward to reading whatever Tessa Wegert puts out next.

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Author: Tessa Wegert

Genre: Suspense

Series: North Country 2

Publisher: Severn House

First Published: Oct 6, 2026

Read: Sept 23-26, 2026

Book Description from GoodReads: 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.