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Series · psychological thriller

Shelby Lake

by Brian Freeman

The Shelby Lake series by Brian Freeman has 2 books and is best read in publication order, starting with The Deep, Deep Snow (2020).

Books
2 books
First published
2020
Status
ongoing
Last checked

Start here: The Deep, Deep Snow (2020) — then read straight through in publication order.

Cover of The Deep, Deep Snow, the first book in Shelby Lake

Reading order

The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.

  1. The Deep, Deep Snow

    Novel

    View book

  2. The Ursulina

    Novel

    View book

About the Shelby Lake series

Shelby Lake is a small-town Wisconsin sheriff's deputy with an origin as dramatic as anything in her caseload: she was abandoned as a newborn in a snowbank and saved by a stranger who happened to be passing. Brian Freeman's two-book series leans into rural noir — isolated communities, buried secrets, and cold-weather atmosphere reminiscent of his Jonathan Stride books, but with a female lead and a folk-horror edge. The Deep, Deep Snow (2020) has Shelby searching for a missing boy while confronting long-buried town secrets, and won a Minnesota Book Award and was an Edgar Award finalist; The Ursulina (2022) is a prequel, sending Shelby back into her own childhood to confront the local legend of a monstrous creature blamed for a string of disappearances.

How to read this series

The two books can be read in either order, since The Ursulina is a prequel set earlier in Shelby's life, but publication order — The Deep, Deep Snow (2020) first, then The Ursulina (2022) — is how most readers encountered the series and is the recommended default.

Frequently asked questions

How many Shelby Lake books are there?

Two: The Deep, Deep Snow (2020) and The Ursulina (2022), a prequel to it.

Is The Ursulina a prequel or sequel to The Deep, Deep Snow?

A prequel — it's set earlier in Shelby Lake's life, though it was published second.

Is there a third Shelby Lake book?

None has been announced as of 2026; Brian Freeman has continued with the Jonathan Stride series, standalone thrillers and the Jason Bourne continuation novels.

Reading order last verified .