First published 2026
Private investigator Annie Gore thought she had seen everything in the Appalachian Mountains where she grew up. Then Katie May walks into her Louisville office with an unusual question: has Annie ever been to a snake-handling church? Katie has been estranged from her preacher father for twenty years. When he dies from a snake bite and gets buried within twenty-four hours, Katie suspects someone rushed the funeral to hide murder. Annie takes the case because she recognizes something familiar in Katie: a daughter who needs to understand her father to understand herself. As Annie investigates the insular Eastern Kentucky town, she uncovers dangerous secrets hidden in remote hollers. Someone wants her investigation stopped by any means necessary. Annie must work fast to find the truth for her client while keeping her own painful childhood memories buried.
Genres: american-fiction, mystery, crime, contemporary, adult-fiction, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, gritty, introspective, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, found-purpose, past-trauma, personal-investigation
Setting: Appalachian Mountains, Louisville, Eastern Kentucky
Period: Contemporary
304 pages · Paperback · Minotaur Books
Content warnings: death, murder