Recipient of the prestigious 2023 Global Book Awards Gold Medal and the highly esteemed 5-Star Award of Excellence from the Historical Fiction Company, this author weaves a captivating tale that follows the journey of a talented young pianist from the mid-west. Balancing the demands of school with the responsibilities of being the primary caregiver for her family, she embarks on a unexpected friendship with a German POW at a nearby prisoner of war camp, who shares her deep love for music.

PI Johnny Lycan's job is dispatching demons, brokering relics with Earth-ending powers, and hiding from a nosey journalist who knows his hairy secret. Johnny is a werewolf. Turmel's prose is creative, irreverent, riveting, and his characters are utterly bewitching. Fair warning: his stories are addictive. But not to worry: it's a series, (thank goodness).

Tyler Zahn, and his daughter, Daria, are estranged and trying to patch things up. Shared grief over the loss of a family member, and the divorce that ensued, have kept them apart. Each thinks they know how the other feels, but they’ve never really talked. As it turns out, they’re both wrong. A summer together might be just the ticket.

But something is amiss in this idyllic town: a little girl has gone missing and the search and rescue team-- of which Tyler is a member—uncovers a mystery with more below-the-surface intricacies than an iceberg. The child they find is not the one they’re looking for, hinting at a larger secret. Someone is kidnapping children and it’s likely a trusted member of the community.

Father and daughter each become entangled in the case on their own level, leading to an unexpected partnership. More said would lead to spoilers… But what I can say is that whatever you think is going on is not. Torrens leads us through a maze of plot twists that keeps us enthralled and guessing until the very last page. The ending is as satisfactory as it is unexpected. Highly recommended.