by Seth Harp
First published 2025
Seth Harp discovers two bodies in the woods at Fort Bragg in 2020. William "Billy" Lavigne belonged to Delta Force, the military's most classified unit. The veteran had completed over a dozen deployments, developed a crack cocaine addiction, sold drugs on base, and committed violent crimes before his death. Timothy Dumas worked as a supply officer with Special Forces access. He stole weapons and smuggled drugs from overseas missions back to the United States. Dumas had written a blackmail letter threatening to reveal criminal activity within the Afghanistan special operations task force. As Harp investigates the double murder, he uncovers additional unexplained deaths at Fort Bragg, all linked to drug trafficking. Fatal overdoses plague the base. The Iraq war veteran and investigative reporter follows the evidence through trial records, police files, and hundreds of interviews. His investigation reveals narcotics trafficking within Special Forces, police corruption enabling drug conspiracies, military coverups, American involvement in Afghan heroin trade, and the destructive effects of perpetual warfare.
Genres: addiction, american, military-fiction, mystery, crime, detective, action, 21st-century
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-reporter, military-conspiracy, true-crime
Setting: Afghanistan, Fort Bragg
Period: 2020
357 pages · Hardcover · Viking
Content warnings: addiction, drug-use, violence