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The Deadfall
Some deaths make sense. Others just happen — mundane, sudden, and impossible to explain, the way Sheriff G.C. Carter has always believed. But by the end of this Halloween, he'll have run out of ordinary explanations.
Dead Fall follows two collision courses through one small Virginia county in October 1987. Alex, Charlie, Tyler, and Greg are twelve years old and camping out for the last time before growing up gets in the way — trading ghost stories, roasting marshmallows, and daring each other toward an abandoned homestead where a double murder happened decades ago and nothing has grown since. Meanwhile, Gary Loren — a disgraced musician turned pill thief, drowning in bad decisions — is one bad night away from being blamed for something far worse than anything he's actually done.
When Gary crosses paths with the boys on Halloween night, panic turns a bad situation into an unforgivable one. As Sheriff Carter races to find four missing kids, something ancient and unexplained moves through the woods around them — something that has been quietly protecting this land, and the children who wander into it, for longer than the county has had a name.
Blending small-town crime fiction, 1980s coming-of-age nostalgia, and a slow-building cryptid horror atmosphere reminiscent of Stand By Me crossed with It, Dead Fall is a character-driven story about grief, courage, addiction, and the quiet things that watch over us in the dark. Perfect for readers who love Southern gothic settings, ensemble casts of kids finding their courage, and horror that lingers in what's never fully explained.
Dead Fall follows two collision courses through one small Virginia county in October 1987. Alex, Charlie, Tyler, and Greg are twelve years old and camping out for the last time before growing up gets in the way — trading ghost stories, roasting marshmallows, and daring each other toward an abandoned homestead where a double murder happened decades ago and nothing has grown since. Meanwhile, Gary Loren — a disgraced musician turned pill thief, drowning in bad decisions — is one bad night away from being blamed for something far worse than anything he's actually done.
When Gary crosses paths with the boys on Halloween night, panic turns a bad situation into an unforgivable one. As Sheriff Carter races to find four missing kids, something ancient and unexplained moves through the woods around them — something that has been quietly protecting this land, and the children who wander into it, for longer than the county has had a name.
Blending small-town crime fiction, 1980s coming-of-age nostalgia, and a slow-building cryptid horror atmosphere reminiscent of Stand By Me crossed with It, Dead Fall is a character-driven story about grief, courage, addiction, and the quiet things that watch over us in the dark. Perfect for readers who love Southern gothic settings, ensemble casts of kids finding their courage, and horror that lingers in what's never fully explained.
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Published September 2, 2026
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