First published 2001
Caleb Prentiss returns to campus after Christmas break to face another semester he dreads. The alcoholic college student finds his classes pointless and seeks comfort with his studious girlfriend and late night conversations with a mysterious campus radio DJ. Then Cal discovers that someone was murdered in his dorm room during winter recess. He becomes obsessed with solving the crime and begins investigating the twisted corridors of his university. Campus security harasses him. His relationships with friends and lovers grow strained. The Dean's cold wife sends him cryptic messages. Cal also suffers from stigmata that bleeds whenever someone close to him dies. His hands have been bleeding frequently lately. As Cal digs deeper into the murder, he must navigate the strange world of his university's night classes while questioning his place in this increasingly bizarre academic environment.
Genres: mystery, crime, psychological-thriller, college, academia, dark-academia, campus
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, dark, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Campus, University
Period: Christmas, Winter
247 pages · Hardcover · Bereshith Publishing
Content warnings: death, murder