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From Best-Selling Author J R RICE — a New Horror is Rising.

THE LONG-AWAITED SPIN-OFF TO THE BANE COUNTY SERIES

In the Vein of the 1970s Eco-thriller . . .

When Man Attacks Nature — Nature Bites Back

October, 1945—Five months after the end of World War II, Walton Hess, Jr. returned from Europe to his family home in Lakes End. Three weeks later, his father, a wealthy cattle baron, was dead, making him the sole heir to the vast Hess empire. Walton had dreamed of this day for three long years while fighting the War. Now was the time to create a new empire—his empire—an industrial-based empire of processing plants and manufacturing facilities. And nothing or no one would stand in his way.

July, 1976—The bicentennial celebration was underway. The small town of Lakes End at the southern tip of Lake Culebras was inundated with tourists, enjoying the warm, clear waters of the placid lake. Twenty-three miles to the north, at the opposite end of the long, narrow body of water, the story was quite different—the Hess Processing Plant had been spewing toxins into the remote region of the lake for more than thirty years. When a fledgling organization known as the EPA shows up, a series of events unfold, becoming the stuff of legends.

May, 2015—Sheriff Jackson Campbell was a relative newcomer to the town of Lakes End—relocating there from Bane County at the beginning of 2011. He’d run for Culebras County Sheriff the following year, winning the election hands down. Life had been good for the past few years. Jackson, his wife, Mariana, and his young son, Dylan, had never been happier. But things were about to change in the sleepy little village of Lakes Ends. And no one knew better than Jackson Campbell that—sometimes …old legends could come to life.

409 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 17, 2023

126 people are currently reading
107 people want to read

About the author

J.R. Rice

9 books181 followers
J R RICE is the Author of Bane County: a Horror / Suspense / Thriller Series.

Bane County is an Epic Saga consisting of:
Five full-length novels, and A Short Story:

Bane County: Forgotten Moon (Book 1)
Bane County: Returning Moon (Book 2)
Bane County: First Moon (Book 3)
Bane County: A Short Story (Book 3.5)
Bane County: Hungry Moon (Book 4)
Bane County: Last Moon (Book 5)

The New Bane County Spin-off Series, entitled: DARK TIMBER: A Jackson Campbell Thriller (Book 1) is Available Now.

Book 2 of the New Series, entitled: DARK FLYERS: A Jackson Campbell Thriller (Book 2) is available now.

Book 3 - Return to Bane County will be out next year.

An Active Member of the Horror Writers Association, J R RICE lives on a large island, near the edge of a dark forest, with his beautiful wife, unruly children, dogs that he loves and cats that he tolerates, and one very nasty monster who lives under his bed and never shuts up.

He enjoys interacting with readers, so please feel free to join him at:

Facebook.com/JRRiceAuthor

Twitter.com/JRRiceAuthor

Goodreads.com/JRRICE

Instagram.com/JRRiceAuthor

https://www.youtube.com/c/JRRiceAuthor

https://www.tiktok.com/@jrriceauthor

https://www.reddit.com/user/JRRICEauthor

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrriceauthor

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5 stars
306 (68%)
4 stars
100 (22%)
3 stars
29 (6%)
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4 (<1%)
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5 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
Profile Image for Terry and dog.
1,009 reviews36 followers
March 19, 2023
Jackson's back. Cue -Taking Care of Business by Bachman Turner Overdrive
What I love most about this, is the characters personalities and their pets and how they support and interact with each other. The story takes time in the beginning, to show the history and landscape of Land's End. You know where the town has come from and why it is the way it is. You hate some people right away and love others. You also get a mini lesson on cars, boats, weapons, dogs, and most of all music, these are integral parts of the main character, Jackson. This sets you up for a brand new series. This one has a creative monster that is really nasty and it does what monsters do best, kill. It was nice to see some old friends from the Bane County series, there to help out. I thought it read like a movie, and I'd love to see that. Great story. I see a new book on the horizon and I'll be right here waiting.
Profile Image for Kevin Snow.
11 reviews11 followers
April 2, 2023
I loved J R Rice's Bane County series and I've been eagerly awaiting the release of Dark Timber. This story lays the foundation for a new series centered around a town called Lakes End. Jackson Campbell and his family have relocated to Lakes End from Bane County, and things have been good. But what is the old saying, just when you think it is safe to go back into the water? Lakes End has been grossly polluted from chemicals and toxins over decades, and there are rumors among the townsfolk of monsters being seen around the thick woods of dark timber. Mother nature has a way of reminding us of who is actually in charge of the planet. And it's not humans. Excellent story. It is definitely worth reading.
185 reviews1 follower
March 18, 2023
Splendid new Series with Friends!

I didn’t think I could possibly love a series as much as Bane County.

I was wrong!!

This book has old friends, new friends, and new monsters.

It has my favorite Rock God from my hometown, my favorite book/movie, fun, and not so fun!

Give this a read and then go read ALL of the equally mesmerizing Bane County Books!
94 reviews2 followers
April 4, 2023
great

Awesome read I can’t wait for the next book to come out. Make excellent movies. What about the baby lizards? Are they going to mature and grow and come out to be vicious like it’s parent?
4 reviews3 followers
March 20, 2023
I was so happy to visit with old friends again and meet some new ones.
22 reviews4 followers
March 22, 2023
Great read

As always Mr Rice delivers with his story and characters. Love Jackson Campbell and Cully. Looking forward to next book. If you haven't read the Bane County series highly recommend.
Profile Image for Brian.
700 reviews14 followers
October 30, 2024
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed”. —MAHATMA GANDHI

After a run of five (and a half) Bane County novels featuring werewolves, J.R. Rice turns his attention to ecological and environmental issues - and mutants. Dark Timber is a spin off from the Bane County novels, it features Jackson Campbell, now Sheriff of Culebras County. After all the horrors of Bane County he is now enjoying a relatively peaceful life with his wife, Mariana and his son Dylan. But you know this peace won’t last long. The seeds of all their problems were sown years before starting in 1945. Walton Hess Jr after retiring form the war in Europe sets up home in Lakes End and begins to build his empire. However he cuts corners to gain maximum profit and one of the areas he does this is in waste disposal from his industrial plant.

Rice spends a lot of time in this novel building up the story and the characters backgrounds, there is quite a bit about ecology, meat processing plants etc. This is to the detriment of action, it has its moments but it isn’t a full on adrenaline rush. I actually didn’t mind this, I felt it helped with engagement, both with the story and the characters. It does, as the description on Amazon states, have a 1970’s eco thriller feel to it, Jaws even gets a mention. in fact there are a few similarities with that story and this. Major Hess and Mayor Larry Vaughn are similarly self centred and uninterested in any potential safety hazards due to killer sharks, or in this case killer mutatations. Also just as the Jaws mayor had the upcoming summer tourist trade too consider, Mayor Hess has the 4th of July celebrations.

“The Fourth of July was only a week away—next Saturday. The town would be filled with tourists next weekend, here to play on the lake and view the town’s fireworks show. Jackson hadn’t thought about the coming holiday until just that moment—and he didn’t care for the bad feelings it evoked.”

Although Dark Timber wouldn’t trouble Stephen King it is still an entertaining and enjoyable read. For those who have read the Bane County books there are a number of appearances by well loved characters from that series. It’s an easy read and isn’t too long, it could be classed as ‘cosy horror’. It is very light, your heart rate won’t be effected I shouldn’t think. Readers expecting something a bit more meaty may be disappointed. The ending too (endings are always the most contentious part of a novel) is a bit of a damp squib. But there will be a sequel!
3 reviews
April 24, 2023
What I enjoy about Mr. Rice's stories is the effort into setting up a strong background lore. I love how he is creating his own monster universe with a unique perspective. As a huge fan of Bane County series, I was eager on reading this and it was worth every second.
I think the initial half may feel a bit of a stretch for some readers. Not that I didn't enjoy reading it. It does lay out the foundation very well and a detailed timeline is a trademark of Mr. Rice which I appreciate a lot.
The dark timber itself is a creepy, old, ambiguous place with lots of mysteries yet to unravel but enough to be unnerving.
The monster is fascinating. It kinda felt like the Moorwen from Outlander if anyone has seen that movie and that scared me a lot, so all the time I was reading about it, imagining the same.
The best part of this book is how our beloved characters from BC series have grown and fit into this new world. And many new characters that are equally intriguing or repelling.
I'm happy this book takes on the environmental pollution as a plot factor. It adds a Chernobyl effect to the story and makes aware to the user a tiny lesson on environmental hazards.
All in, a great start of a spinoff to an already excellent series.
I'm quite impatient now that I finished this and have to wait for the second one.
137 reviews2 followers
April 3, 2023
Good creature horror

I loved the Bane County books, best werewolf horror ive read in a long time so you can say i look forward to this "spin-off" with one of the coolest caracters in fiction, Jackson Campbell. If im gone point out something that makes me give it 4 stars, it has a slow start and it takes some time before it gets really interesting but other than that well worth the read, look forward to the next in the installment
80 reviews1 follower
June 3, 2023
Wow!!!

I loved this story as good as I love the bane county stories. What I like most about this writer is he or she takes old lore and makes it believable. There's nothing g I dislike about this writers stories, they are great. I'm looking forward to reading the next Jackson Campbell book. Keep them coming
Profile Image for Valerie Dominguez-garcia.
17 reviews
April 18, 2023
never disappoints.

Trust me when I say that JR Rice never disappoints you when telling a story. Amazing and I love Trace already. Wonder if the creature will ever make another appearance? Looking forward to your next book Mr. Rice.
Profile Image for Dusty Crum.
41 reviews5 followers
October 28, 2025
Another Bane County Winner !

I was in love with these stories from the first one and now I can't wait to read the last .
143 reviews1 follower
December 4, 2023
Mutants lizards two headed frogs

Almost as good as bane county werewolves, mutations in the water due to chemicals. Old nasty man Hess has done a lot of damage to the lake just to get rich. Doesn't care about anything else.
Profile Image for Andria Vincent.
19 reviews5 followers
March 29, 2023
Loved it!! Great to see Jackson back.

Felt like I was with old friends again. Good story pacing and just enough mystery to make a person eager to read the next installment!!
Profile Image for Leon Scheppink.
105 reviews3 followers
April 13, 2023
Dark Timber, spinoff of the Bane County-series. I have to admit, I felt a bit anxious when this book came out last month. Main reason was because the Bane County-series ticked off all the boxes: a wonderful creature, fascinating and likeable characters, fantastic setting and dialogue, a great story that spans a considerate amount of time, just excellent storytelling.
So before I started with Dark Timber, I reread the Bane County-series (again). I suppose you could read Dark Timber without having read the Bane County-series, but you'd miss out on a lot of background information and, more importantly, you wouldn't be doing yourself a favor.

Now, on with Dark Timber. Despite my trepidation, I started off and was immediately hooked. I tried pacing myself to one or two chapters a day, but then a long weekend came 'round the corner and I had finished the book. The style is immediately recognizable and that was a major part that attracted me to the Bane County-series. Here we have a main character from the previous series, trying to live his new life in new surroundings. Although there – obviously, and thankfully – are quite some differences compared to Bane County, the style is very recognizable and it again is a wonderful start to a new series.
I was happy to see (the mention of) some familiar characters but we are also introduced to new ones, that are equally fascinating and likeable (well, most 😉).

So, all in all, was my anxiety warranted? Not at all. It didn't even come close to a disappointment and although I will always remember Bane County as one as my absolute top favorites (again, movie people, you need to pick up that story!) I'm very happy to see its continuation (in a way) in this new series. The only downside is that I have to wait again for the next part to come out.
Profile Image for Nathan Bryant.
27 reviews
May 14, 2023
Been a long time coming.

Ever since this was announced after the last Bane County book was released, I couldn't wait to read it! For those who haven't read Bane County yet, or have and loved it, it's a must read. Familiar faces pop up and it's like the old gang is back, but with newer members.

This was a very close 5/5 stars, but a few things kept it from being a complete 5. The biggest thing I have to voice about is some of the background info in the story. It's a bit too drawn out that takes away from the story and just seems to drone on and on. In some areas, it's just a bit too much. Like it was added to make more of a word count. But once you get past it, it zooms right on by. The humor between Jackson and Culley just reminds me of the other series. I busted up laughing at the humor within the book. I can't wait for the next book in the series.
214 reviews2 followers
March 20, 2023
Dark Timber

Jackson, Culley, Trace, oh my!! ♥️ My only complaint on this book....I could easily keep reading a few more hours. This entry takes place a few years before and then after the infamous Bane County incidents. Here we have a seemingly haunted type forest, with many secrets which are being disturbed by a logging company, hired by the town meanie. This leads to our heroes having a rousing adventure and bonding with each other more. Read the Bane County series first, but don't miss out on this new adventure. Very well written and researched!!
8 reviews
March 27, 2023
It’s no Bane County, but still great!

As always Mr. Rice has a way with words that really just transport you directly into the story. I’m a little bummed that we still have a TON of unanswered questions left from Bane County, but this new story was still good and I’m sure they’ll be answered eventually. I really only have one complaint with this new novel, there wasn’t really any good or detailed description of the creature, it just kind of states what it likely was at one point and the rest is up to you.
Other than that, great read, can’t wait for the next one!
Profile Image for d.mcnicholas.
68 reviews
July 28, 2023
Another brilliantly creepy story from a very talented author. I so happy that Jackson Campbell's story is continuing. He's now sheriff of a small lakeside town, and you can be sure, where Jackson goes monsters follow.
I loved the background and build up to DarkTimber, even though it's a heartbreaking beginning. As always, J R Rice let's you into the lives of genuinely nice people before they end up monster food. I'm really looking forward to seeing where the next instalment takes me. I only hope I don't have long to wait.
836 reviews4 followers
March 29, 2023
4 Stars

I really enjoyed the Bane County series and was looking forward to the new series from J R Rice. This first book starts in the 1940s, when the Hess Slaughterhouse starts polluting the environment around the town of Lakes End. Jump to 2015 and Jackson Campbell now Sheriff of Culebras County faces a new kind of monster grown from the polluted waters of Lake Culebras. Books a little longer than I like but for the most part kept my interest. 4 Stars
17 reviews
October 26, 2025
this picks up about 5 years after the end of the bane county series. you don't have to read bane county to follow this book, but i do recommend you read it if you like this book. Seems like Jackson is always finding a way to get involved with cryptids, he and cully have some help from his new deputy in this book and hopefully they will find a solution to the problem. Good writing, great setting, and good characters
17 reviews
March 29, 2023
J R Rice does it again!

I really liked this book, it has some old friends from Bane County plus the new ones. If you love a great werewolf story, do yourself a favor and read the Bane County series first. This is a different creature feature that I enjoyed and cant wait to see what Jackson and company get into next!
18 reviews1 follower
April 5, 2023
Great read!

If you loved Bane County, you are going to love Dark Timber. It has a great storyline that keeps you reading. The characters are well written. Having Jackson Campbell and some of the old characters we've grown to love from Bane County is a plus. Can't wait for book two.
6 reviews
April 11, 2023
Awesome!!!

I loved this book as well as The Bane County Series,eagerly and impatiently waiting for the next installment! The characters are so well done,love Jackson and Culley and Deputy Trace is fantastic. The only thing I miss is Bryce hopefully he shows up in the next one, I miss the banter between him and Jackson.
118 reviews
May 15, 2023
The first book in J.R. Rice's new series following Jackson Campbell hits the ground running and never stops. New mysteries are introduced and old characters return to face them. Things are set up that I'm sure will come back in the later books and I can't wait for them

If you liked Bane County, you are going to like this one. Read it when you get the chance.
Profile Image for Adam Everhart.
18 reviews
May 30, 2023
Another adventure...

Good read, I like how they explain the impossible using some science, making things seem like it just might be possible for there to be monsters out there in the dark... Enjoyed the Bane County monsters better, but still looking forward to the next book in this spinoff.
Profile Image for DAWN NOELLE ANZELONE.
11 reviews1 follower
June 9, 2023
A true delight of nightmares in the woods and the water!!

Loved the newest creations of monsters that will give you the willies and make you think twice about that next trek in the woods!!
Definitely the book for readers that have a love for sinister creatures and the outdoors!!
Love that there will also be more to come of Jackson & Bryce ...
15 reviews5 followers
March 21, 2023
Awesome!

JR Rice did not disappoint with this book! Loved the familiar characters and hope more will be brought back in the next book. Looking forward to next book. I have to say Bane County is still my fave but very happy with Dark Timber.
Profile Image for Amanda Burton.
28 reviews
March 21, 2023
Return to excellence

I can't wait for the next chapter in this tale, but I will happily do so! Really enjoyed the new direction, and that JR Rice took their time to deliver a great book.
1 review1 follower
March 25, 2023
Another great story

Loved this book could not put it down, stayed up all night reading it. I was glad the old gang is in this book hope they will make an appearance in the next books. I can't wait for the next book in this series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews

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