Officer Jack Ballinger receives a phone call from the chief of police in the early morning hours regarding a dead body at an apartment building in a quiet neighborhood in the small upstate New York town of Black Falls. A female student lies in a pentagram outlined in her own blood, clutching a rosary. Ballinger and his former partner Officer Cory Ryan interview tenants in the building about the girl's death, but are met with more questions than answers.When another body is found in ...

When author Christian Rivers meets Milestone County's Sheriff Philip Erickson, a spark of attraction flickers between them. The three stories in this collection fan the flames of that attraction, and the love Christian and Philip share blazes within these pages. Contains the stories:A Light in the Dark: Author Christian Rivers has ended a five-year relationship with his boyfriend, Russ, but is suddenly propelled back into "the scene" when he phones Milestone County ...

Christian Rivers has been single for a year and a half. Emotionally disconnected, he focuses on writing his next best seller. Unfortunately, his neighbor's teenage son, Bret Hicks, causes trouble next door with his bad friends hanging out, smoking marijuana, drinking, and abusing Christian's dog, Darth Vader.Incensed, Christian phones Milestone County's Sheriff Philip Erickson to lay an animal cruelty charge. When Sheriff Erickson arrives, the two men have coffee, and a spark of at...

Introverted, socially awkward Jay Kirkman, known to his Grams as "Jay Bird," is riding the ups-and-downs of youth while living with overbearing parents and dealing with the pressures of being a senior in high school.A month away from graduation, Jay hopes to flee the small upstate New York town of Milton for a life anywhere but in his dead-end hometown. He wishes for more than he has now: scholarly, eccentric parents, and watching Grams, the closest person to him, slowly dying befo...

Bradley James Winterbottom has a bigger-than-life dilemma this Valentine's Day. He is bringing his new boyfriend, Ronnie, home to meet his parents for the first time.After a few years away, Bradley's mother, Marla, and father, Harold, have summoned their only son back to the small-knit town of Holly Springs in upstate New York for a Valentine's Day family gathering.Bradley is thrilled to see his parents after all these years. When he arrives, however, he notices the years h...

PI Bradshaw receives a late night call from a client desperate to find her missing daughter. The woman asks to meet him at a storage unit in upstate New York. The woman hangs up before Bradshaw can inquire further. Woken by the jarring news, Bradshaw decides to meet the frantic, mysterious woman pleading for his help. Working as a private investigator has its drawbacks. Bradshaw often receives prank calls from clients with run-of-the-mill requests and chooses his cases wisely. But there is...

Something is stalking the campgrounds at Pine Hill Creek.Rumor has it that local folklore about the notorious Bigfoot is responsible for the mystery of a missing young woman.When eighteen-year-old high school senior Sasha Lockwood vanishes without a trace while camping with her friends, fear and horror sequester a small community. Local and federal law enforcement officers begin an exhausting twenty-four-hour investigation of seventy acres of vast forest, looking for the vi...

Ralph Ashton gets more than he bargained for when police question him about the death of his ex-boyfriend Elijah Ray, whose body is discovered at the edge of the Saranac River.When the local police visit Ralph and ask him about a critical piece of case evidence, Ralph becomes a prime suspect. He sets out to learn what happened to Eli the night he left his apartment and is startled to learn about his former boyfriend's shady past.As Ralph pursues a dangerous investigation, h...

An armed, violent man escapes jail and flees police in Talon County, Maine, where a widespread chase stretches from Bangor to Portland. A torrential rainstorm hits the coast of Maine in a fury of blackouts as police canvas the area for Brad Rayon, who terrorizes a small community, killing anybody who gets in his way.Several break-ins, thefts, and arsons are reported in the area, but for Ash and his boyfriend Wally, it is a series of personal threats that heightens to life-threatenin...

Ben Bradshaw, a private investigator, is not just any detective. He delves into the mysteries of the living and the dead, his past spirits guiding him through the shadows of crime.One evening, college wrestling champion Levi Franklin visits Ben and urges him to help find his missing father. After listening to the client's impulsive request, Ben refuses to accept the young man's offer. Something does not seem right. Then, something shifts in Levi's desperate plea. His heart-wrenching...

Newspaper reporter Luke Sorenson has recently moved to a new town in upstate New York. Despite the change in scenery, Luke cannot run away from a brutal, harrowing past driven by the death of his only child, Emily.Soon, Luke is propelled into a dangerous case of child abduction, an eerie reminder of losing his daughter. An eight-year-old boy named Daniel Hadley is kidnapped from his own bedroom and it is Luke, battling his own demons, who is assigned the story of the year.A...

Sequel to Past SinsJack Ballinger has seen a lot of horrible things in the six years he's been a police officer, disturbing images he wishes he could erase from his memory forever. Crime scenes, dead bodies, and the death of his parents dredge up an unsettling time from his past, a tortured childhood he does not want to revisit. But Jack must confront a new waking nightmare that sends him spiraling out of control, down a rabbit hole of indescribable terrors, questioning his...