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Bone Merchant
From the author of Rabbit King and Director's Cut comes a bone-crunching detective thriller where murder is wholesale, and the dead are worth more than the living...
Detective Lenny Mallock was one of the best investigators Chicago had to offer - that is until "The Fall" took his life, his family, and his career. Now, he stalks the city's shadows, hunting society's monsters in secret, seeking redemption in a city that no longer believes in it
When a group of teens are caught digging up a grave in the dead of night, Mallock is summoned into a case that reeks worse than death. The kids weren't simply vandalizing a grave, they were selling the remains for profit. When one of the teens confesses they were working for a notorious criminal ringleader, Mallock senses something far more sinister beneath the surface
His investigation drags him down into Chicago's dark underbelly ruled by criminal warlords and corrupt city officials. His only ally, Nikola Bellamy, is a gang member for one of Chicago's deadliest kingpins. Together, they follow the gruesome trail of death where people's organs are harvested for profit. From the shadows, Mallock and Bellamy hear whispers of the ruler of the organ trade, a mysterious figure known only as the Bone Merchant
Each lead draws Mallock closer to the Bone Merchant, the terrifying ruler who controls the underground trade in flesh and fear. To find the Merchant, Mallock must enter the labyrinth of Chicago's criminal underworld. As he ventures deeper into the Bone Merchant's blood-soaked domain, Mallock learns that corruption runs deeper than the grave...
Part detective thriller, part waking nightmare, Bone Merchant drags the reader through a city where the dead don’t stay buried—and where redemption means digging up the truth one body at a time
Detective Lenny Mallock was one of the best investigators Chicago had to offer - that is until "The Fall" took his life, his family, and his career. Now, he stalks the city's shadows, hunting society's monsters in secret, seeking redemption in a city that no longer believes in it
When a group of teens are caught digging up a grave in the dead of night, Mallock is summoned into a case that reeks worse than death. The kids weren't simply vandalizing a grave, they were selling the remains for profit. When one of the teens confesses they were working for a notorious criminal ringleader, Mallock senses something far more sinister beneath the surface
His investigation drags him down into Chicago's dark underbelly ruled by criminal warlords and corrupt city officials. His only ally, Nikola Bellamy, is a gang member for one of Chicago's deadliest kingpins. Together, they follow the gruesome trail of death where people's organs are harvested for profit. From the shadows, Mallock and Bellamy hear whispers of the ruler of the organ trade, a mysterious figure known only as the Bone Merchant
Each lead draws Mallock closer to the Bone Merchant, the terrifying ruler who controls the underground trade in flesh and fear. To find the Merchant, Mallock must enter the labyrinth of Chicago's criminal underworld. As he ventures deeper into the Bone Merchant's blood-soaked domain, Mallock learns that corruption runs deeper than the grave...
Part detective thriller, part waking nightmare, Bone Merchant drags the reader through a city where the dead don’t stay buried—and where redemption means digging up the truth one body at a time
346 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 8, 2025
6 people are currently reading
About the author
Keith McCabe
16 books20 followersKeith McCabe writes at the crossroads of horror and humanity, where dread seeps into the cracks of the human experience and truth is often more terrifying than the monster. An American indie author, McCabe has built a body of work that’s as fearless as it is unsettling—stories that pulse with suspense, rage, and psychological fire. Influenced by the haunting precision of Peter Straub, the emotional brutality of Joyce Carol Oates, and the stark moral landscapes of modern noir, McCabe crafts tales where every shadow hides a secret and every sinner has their reason.
His novels span the spectrum of terror and mystery. In Rabbit King, a fever dream of psychological horror, McCabe dissects the art underworld where the mythical Rabbit King has reigned for centuries; a mysterious creature that determines which artists achieve fame in their lifetime or die penniless and forgotten. Director’s Cut turns a lens on obsession and morbid fandom in the world of underground filmmaking—where creativity and cruelty blur into a single, bloody performance. Pain Diary is an unflinching psychological thriller that reads like a confession from the edge of reason, a story about trauma’s long reach and the fragile architecture of identity.
McCabe’s Victims & Hunters takes a detour into history without losing his trademark grit—a sprawling historical crime novel set against a world of moral decay, vengeance, and fractured justice with a pioneer female investigator (Maryelaina Lemberg) at the helm. Here, McCabe fuses period detail with the tension of modern noir, proving that human corruption is timeless.
His supernatural Deb Dawson series (Jersey Graves, Jersey Gothic, Jersey Devils) extends his vision into a haunting mythos of cursed people and restless spirits featuring a reluctant New Jersey psychic (Deb Dawson) navigating the dangerous occult underworld. Through these works, McCabe explores America’s dark folklore and the ghosts we make for ourselves—both literal and psychological.
What ties McCabe’s stories together is not just their intensity, but their empathy—the sense that beneath every act of violence lies a yearning for something pure, something lost. His worlds are brutal, beautiful, and cinematic, written with the pulse of a thriller and the soul of literary fiction.
Keith McCabe lives in Texas where he works as a court reporter.
His novels span the spectrum of terror and mystery. In Rabbit King, a fever dream of psychological horror, McCabe dissects the art underworld where the mythical Rabbit King has reigned for centuries; a mysterious creature that determines which artists achieve fame in their lifetime or die penniless and forgotten. Director’s Cut turns a lens on obsession and morbid fandom in the world of underground filmmaking—where creativity and cruelty blur into a single, bloody performance. Pain Diary is an unflinching psychological thriller that reads like a confession from the edge of reason, a story about trauma’s long reach and the fragile architecture of identity.
McCabe’s Victims & Hunters takes a detour into history without losing his trademark grit—a sprawling historical crime novel set against a world of moral decay, vengeance, and fractured justice with a pioneer female investigator (Maryelaina Lemberg) at the helm. Here, McCabe fuses period detail with the tension of modern noir, proving that human corruption is timeless.
His supernatural Deb Dawson series (Jersey Graves, Jersey Gothic, Jersey Devils) extends his vision into a haunting mythos of cursed people and restless spirits featuring a reluctant New Jersey psychic (Deb Dawson) navigating the dangerous occult underworld. Through these works, McCabe explores America’s dark folklore and the ghosts we make for ourselves—both literal and psychological.
What ties McCabe’s stories together is not just their intensity, but their empathy—the sense that beneath every act of violence lies a yearning for something pure, something lost. His worlds are brutal, beautiful, and cinematic, written with the pulse of a thriller and the soul of literary fiction.
Keith McCabe lives in Texas where he works as a court reporter.
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