The Frozen Freight Series by JR Elrod
Two books.
One crew.
Nothing on the manifest.
Thirty years behind the wheel, written down. Iron Reach and The Fifth Dot are both available now, in paperback, ebook, and signed straight from JR.
Both books reviewed. Both recommended to libraries.
Book One · Iron Reach
“A deftly crafted novel by veteran truck driver J. R. Elrod, Frozen Freight: Iron Reach is a riveting and detailed story of the endurance, the loyalty, the skill, and the grit it takes to keep the wheels turning when everything freezes over. An unreservedly recommended pick.”Midwest Book Review · May 2026
Book Two · The Fifth Dot
“More than the usual action-packed thriller. A foray into personal morals and issues of loyalty and commitment. Libraries should consider Frozen Freight: The Fifth Dot above and beyond the usual conspiracy thriller.”D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer · Midwest Book Review
The series so far
Read them in order. Book One is the frozen run that started it. Book Two is what it cost them.
Book One
Frozen Freight: Iron Reach
Thirty years behind the wheel. One classified mission. A convoy that was never supposed to make it back.
When a team of civilian truckers is tapped to haul classified cargo from Florida to a secret military base in Newfoundland, the miles ahead turn into a gauntlet of storms, sabotage, and sacrifice. Pops Mercer and his crew fight ice, breakdowns, and a threat that is hunting them mile after mile.
This is trucking the hard way. No Hollywood shortcuts. Just real trucking, real weather, and the kind of choices that stay with a driver long after the road ends.
Book Two
Frozen Freight: The Fifth Dot
Some loads you don't talk about. Some roads you don't take twice.
The crew is back and the yard is coming back to life. Same crew, new equipment, and a whole lot of finding out whether they still have it.
Colonel Merritt has another job. Two aircraft, across the country. Four trucks. Two thousand loaded miles. Sounds simple. With Merritt, it never is. Then the black SUVs start showing up in the mirrors, and folks start asking questions nobody outside the convoy should know to ask.
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Order direct from JR
Every signed copy is personally signed and shipped from Mount Pleasant, Texas. Shipping is included in every price below. Copies are printed to order, so allow about a week to ten days from your order to your mailbox. Checkout runs through PayPal, and you do not need a PayPal account, debit and credit cards work fine. PayPal collects your shipping address at checkout.
Both books, signed
$50
Start at the beginning. Signed paperbacks of Iron Reach and The Fifth Dot, the whole story so far, shipped together. Ten dollars off buying them separately.
Iron Reach, signed
$30
A signed paperback of Book One, personally signed by JR.
The Fifth Dot, signed
$30
A signed paperback of Book Two, personally signed by JR.
Questions about an order? Email jr.elrod@bartransport.net.
Prologue: Steel and Silence
There is a sound a truck makes when the world is still asleep.
Not the engine yet, just the slow tick of cooling metal and the whisper of a night that never really ends. In a yard full of rigs, each one towers quiet in the dark before dawn, and for a moment it's church. The air's thick with diesel settled into the dirt, and the cold cuts through your jacket no matter how many mornings you've done this.
A man learns to breathe different out here, slow, like engine oil before the first turn of the key. Dew beads on the fender. Chrome catches the first hint of light and throws it back lazy, like it's too early to shine.
Folks who've never driven one think big trucks roar to life. They don't. They wake up.
When I bump the starter, she answers with a deep-voiced rumble that climbs through my boots and settles in my ribs. That's not noise, that's heartbeat.
Every man's got a place of worship. Mine's twelve feet tall, painted in road dust, and powered by diesel.
From Frozen Freight: Iron Reach, Prologue
What readers are saying
4.7 stars on Amazon across 40 reviews, and a 4.91 average on Goodreads. Real readers, real reactions, and more rolling in every week.
"Two words. Jason Statham. You need to put this in IMAX. I held my breath, I cried, and prayed right along with them. My favorite line in this book, 'Some roads don't end. They wait for you to get back on them with the right people beside you.' JR this IS very special. I can't wait to read the next one."Retta S.
"I am a truckdriver and this book really hit its mark. The scenes hit me just right. All the turmoil he shows is accurate to what we go through day in and day out. It is never the same every day."Archie S.
"The book was amazing. Don't pass up the first couple of chapters because they're the foundation of the story. A lot of twists and turns throughout the book. You won't want to put it down. A great read. JR did a wonderful job painting me into the picture of the whole journey. I can't wait for book 2 in the series."Kim H.
Already read one? Leave a review.
Your review on Amazon is the single biggest thing that helps other readers find these books. It takes two minutes and it means the world. Truckers, drivers, and folks who love a real story trust reviews. Yours could be the one that puts the book in someone else's hands.
Thanks for keeping me rolling.
JR
A note from JR
Some loads take longer than the paperwork says they will. The first book was one of them.
I am a truck driver. I am a business owner. I was not a novelist. That first book took nine months out of my life and there were plenty of nights I wondered if I had any business writing it at all. But I kept going because I wanted to get it right.
Not just right for the guys who have been behind the wheel for thirty years and will know immediately if I got the gear shift wrong or put the wrong trailer under the wrong load. But right for the person who has never once sat in a cab and only knows a truck as that big thing passing them on the interstate.
Two books in now, and three more coming. Thank you for sticking with me. It means more than I know how to say.
JR Elrod
Driver. Business owner. Novelist.
Where the series goes
What's happening
Frozen Freight: Iron Reach goes live worldwide on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and direct from the printer in 12 countries.
Midwest Book Review names Iron Reach an unreservedly recommended pick. Editor James Cox highlights the novel's endurance, loyalty, skill, and grit.
Atmosphere Press publishes an interview with JR Elrod covering the book, the trucking life, and the road that led to writing it.
Selected by the Texas Library Association for the Indie Texas Catalog, curating indie Texas authors for library systems across the state.
Book Two, The Fifth Dot, releases in ebook and paperback. Signed copies shipping now from Mount Pleasant.
Audiobook edition of Iron Reach, narrated by JD Carter and produced through ACX. The whole first book read start to finish for the drivers who would rather listen.
The Fifth Dot audiobook follows the Iron Reach release. Same production path through ACX.
Life on the road and beyond
Thirty years of trucking. A private pilot license. A wife who edits every page and still gets in the plane. This is the life that built the story.
Private pilot since 2019
After thirty years navigating highways, JR took to the skies. He flies his Beechcraft Bonanza for business trips and family trips across the country. The same discipline that makes a good driver makes a good pilot.
Real DoD work
BAR Transportation holds a DoD Performance Bond and is SDDC registered. When Pops Mercer hauls classified cargo in the book, the author has done the real version of that job.
JR and Rebecca
34 years married. Two companies built together. Every page edited line by line. She is the reason it is readable. He is the reason it is real.
Get on the launch list
Be the first to hear about signed copies, Book Three, and everything happening with the Frozen Freight series. Use the contact form below this block.
Iron Reach ISBN 979-8-9938535-0-5 · Author contact: charleyair64@gmail.com