The Totem

by David Morrell

First published 2003

Nathan Slaughter watches his peaceful mountain town transform into something unrecognizable. Cattle appear carved apart in fields around Potter's Field, Wyoming. Wild animals attack without provocation. Local children suddenly turn violent and irrational. Adults disappear, leaving behind only horror. When bodies surface with their faces removed, Nathan realizes these incidents connect to something larger and more calculated than random madness. He searches for patterns while his neighbors succumb to paranoia and fear. The violence escalates as Nathan discovers the truth behind the chaos. Someone orchestrates these events with deliberate precision. Nathan must identify this human evil before it consumes everyone he knows. His investigation reveals that the most dangerous predators walk on two legs and hide behind familiar faces.

Genres: suspense, mystery, horror, thriller

Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: investigation, unreliable-narrator

Setting: Potter's Field, Wyoming

Period: contemporary

448 pages · Paperback · Grand Central Publishing

Content warnings: gore, violence

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