First published 2008
Cedar Hill seems like any other small Ohio town, but beneath its quiet surface lies something far more sinister. When bodies start appearing under mysterious circumstances, the community's carefully maintained facade begins to crumble. Local residents find themselves caught between loyalty to their neighbors and the growing evidence that someone among them commits terrible acts. As the investigation deepens, long-buried truths about Cedar Hill's past surface, revealing connections between seemingly random deaths. The town's residents must confront not only an active threat but also the realization that their community has harbored darkness for years. Braunbeck weaves together multiple perspectives as ordinary people face extraordinary evil, exploring how violence ripples through interconnected lives and how communities respond when trust dissolves.
Genres: suspense, mystery, horror, thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: dark-secrets, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Cedar Hill, Ohio
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
334 pages · Paperback · Leisure Books
Content warnings: murder, violence