House of the Rising Sun

by K'wan

When Artie Howell moves with his wife back to her sleepy hometown, he must protect their son Nicky from the skeletons coming out of the closets from both of their pasts


WHEN THE HOWELL FAMILY MOVES INTO A HOUSE on Heckler Lane, it causes quite a stir around the small town of Sunny Cove, Pennsylvania. Elise Howell, a well-known cardio surgeon, has returned home after fifteen years to fill her recently deceased mother’s position at Sunny Cove General Hospital. In a town this size, it’s big news. But it’s Elise’s new husband, Artie, who has the whole town talking.


Artie Howell is a man who always seems to be wearing a smile. He’s an accomplished crime fiction writer, a soccer dad to their young son Nicky, and he volunteers his weekends teaching creative writing to youths in the local detention center. When they first arrived at Heckler Lane, the Howells had seemed like a wholesome American family. Then came the murders.


A nun turning up missing from the Convent of St. Mary becomes the first in a string of unexplained tragedies that have befallen the town. Tragedies that all seem to be tied to scenes from Artie’s novels. The writer now finds himself as the prime suspect in an investigation that threatens to not only tear apart his family, but the entire town of Sunny Cove.

200 pages, Paperback

Expected publication May 5, 2026

About the author

In 2002 K'wan hit the scene with his debut novel Gangsta, under Triple Crown Publications. It was the first novel released by the budding house and would eventually become the building block for what is now a multimillion dollar company. What started as a therapeutic release went on to become a part of urban-lit history and an Essence bestseller, as well as drawing rave reviews overseas.
After penning his second novel, Road Dawgz (2003), K'wan drew the attention of St. Martins press. The literary powerhouse quickly signed K'wan to a multi-book deal, the first of which being Street Dreams (2004). In 2008 he received the Black Author of the year award from Black Press Radio for the novella Blow.
Since his insertion into the publishing world K'wan has been featured in Vibe, Pages, King, Felon, Big News, The Library Journal, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Press, Clutch and most notably Time Magazine, to name a few. He was also interviewed by MTV News for a feature on Hip-Hop fiction, and a guest on Power 105s morning show as well as NPR (national public radio). In addition to being an accomplished author, K'wan is also a motivational speaker, mentor to at risk children and the C.E.O of Black Dawn, Inc.
K'wan currently resides in New Jersey where he is working on his next novel.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/kwan

Reviews

[Samirah · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Received: NetGalley - Akashic Books
Publication Date: May 5, 2026

I had to sit with this book before writing this review. I really enjoyed this story and the way it was written. I went into this thinking “oh, small-town mystery, a cozy read” WRONG! This was so much more, it was darker, and had so many more layers. I ate it up. This was my first K’Wan book and I. AM. A. FAN!! The writing was sharp and did a great job drawing parallels of this fictional world and our own without pulling you from the story.

It opens up with our MC, Artie Howell after he and his family moves back to his wife’s home town, Sunny cove. At first glance all seems normal, Artie volunteers at the local juvenile detention center, hosting a creative writing course for the young boys. Artie’s wife is head of cardiac surgery at the local hospital. Their son, normal kid who like to sneak in a curse word here and there. Immediately the mood is set with this town and the tension it holds with the killing of a nun. More killings begin to happen and oddly enough they mirror scenes from Artie’s own novels. The suspense had me on the edge of my seat and then left me there to dangle, because we are left with a cliffhanger but one I’m not mad at because it’s soooo good. I’ll be chomping at the bit for the next one for sure!

[Kimberly W · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very quick and interesting suspense filled read. If I could, I would rank this book a solid 3.5. There were so many twisting plot lines, that I had to take pause at points to try to figure out where they intertwined. When it came together in the end, I was left wishing for more pages to read to continue piecing it all together. I would love to read more of this storyline to get a better handle on how the introduced characters all fit together in this dynamic authors multidimensional world of fiction. Many thanks to the publisher, Akashic Books, and NetGalley for this ARC book.