Shadow Falls: A John Santana Mystery

by Christopher Valen

In the sultry heat of a late July evening, the body of Sabrina Lockwood, the rebellious 19-year-old daughter of a wealthy venture capitalist, is found ritualistically posed on a pile of rocks in Shadow Falls Park. Strangled and left as if on an altar, her murder sends shockwaves through St. Paul. Homicide Detectives John Santana and Gabriel Cruz are tasked with untangling the mystery of Sabrina's death—a case that seems to lead only to more questions.

As Santana and Cruz dig deeper, unsettling secrets emerge, linking Sabrina to a dangerous underworld of cults, blackmail, and AI conspiracies. A mysterious photo, an affair with ties to a Satanic leader, and a haunting video of Sabrina meeting a stranger in a parking garage—all seem to implicate those closest to her.

With protests raging outside the home of cult leader Ezekiel Shade, and a mounting web of suspects, the detectives race against time to solve Sabrina’s murder. But with each lead, they uncover a deeper, darker web of deceit, where no one is innocent, and no one can be trusted.
As family ties crumble and hidden agendas surface, Santana and Cruz must navigate a maze of lies to reveal the chilling truth behind Sabrina Lockwood’s death.

372 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2025

About the author

Christopher Valen is the award-winning author of nine works of fiction featuring Colombian-born, St. Paul Homicide Detective John Santana: White Tombs, The Black Minute, Bad Weeds Never Die, Bone Shadows, Death’s Way, The Darkness Hunter, Speak For The Dead, The Price Of Life, and No Way To Die. He's also written the historical noir murder mystery, City Of Stones, set in 1950 Minneapolis, with fellow author Dan Cohen, and the literary novel All The Fields.

Booklist calls Santana “. . . an appealing series lead, strong and intelligent . . .” Midwest Book Review declares that “Santana is a wonderful addition to the sub-genre,” and Library Journal says that Valen’s “ . . . highly moral Santana character is golden.”

Christopher is a graduate of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Citizen Academy and has many contacts and resources in the law enforcement community. He lives in Arizona and Minnesota with his Colombian-born wife, Martha. To learn more visit his website at www.christophervalen.com