IT ALWAYS STARTS WITH A BODY, a psychological thriller (and urban fantasy), complete at 75,000 words.
Detective John Juno just wants two simple things—to be left alone to do his job, AND to get rid of the ghost of the killer responsible for his son’s death that follows him everywhere. The ghost incessantly haunts, taunts, and (sometimes) helps with his investigations, telling him things he couldn’t know otherwise. John teeters on the edge, trying to quiet the voice with a steady parade of booze, pills, and casual self-destruction. He’s in self-assigned purgatory.
When a severed, beautifully manicured hand shows up in the city landfill, Juno is assigned to investigate who it belongs to
To Juno’s dismay, he’s partnered with an idealistic young by-the-book detective, Rachel Erikson. She won’t suffer his cliché toxic traits.
Finding the identity of the hand, along with a ransom note, starts a countdown to save the still-living victim. The case uncovers deep-rooted secrets of the city’s rich and powerful, in an investigation that crashes into Juno’s personal life, endangering his friends and estranged daughter, leaving him with a choice—start listening to the ghost, face his demons, forgive himself and let others in on his secret, or lose what remains of his sanity and let the handless victim die.
The story combines the paranormal elements of A BOX FULL OF DARKNESS by Simone St. James, EXPOSURE by Ramona Emerson, and the irreverent humor of a Chuck Wendig novel in a twisty mystery/thriller with tons of red herrings, very plotty. Very weird.
Fan of Stephen King’s hardboiled stuff? Fan of Disco Elysium? Fan of China Mieville’s “The City and the City? Fan of True Detective? You’ll dig this.