
With the pinprick of summer fresh on his skin, a young boy stumbles upon a horrifying secret long buried in the forgotten past of a small midwestern community. Sharing the disturbing discovery with his best friends, the boys set out on the adventure of their young lives, hoping to unravel a mystery over 100 years in the making. One that left a scarred graveyard full of discarded bodies in its wake, and a deep divide between those avoiding history and those unwilling to see it repeated. Without the comfort of an adult they can trust, their terrifying encounter haunts them the rest of their lives. Each blind to the murky darkness it left festering deep inside them.
Haunted by a series of recent and barely believable events, Russell Stander returns to the long-abandoned home of a deceased relative he’d last visited as a child. Hoping to discover a connection between what he’d witnessed there in the past, and freshly unveiled revelations. Enlisting the help of his best friend, retired detective Tom Secrist, Stander painstakingly peels back the layers of time. Searching for any connections, and the abandoned friendships he’d long left behind.
Four boys, coming-of-age in the 1980s, bound by loyalty and their thirst for adventure. Each tarred with a lingering stain that changed the course of their tattered lives forever.
“Part National Treasure, part Stand by Me… academic puzzle-solving and coming-of-age adventure. Fast paced, believable likable characters, engaging dialogue, and a gotdamn horrifying monster… “
Christine- Amazon
“DM Gritzmacher is such a brilliant writer. His ability to infuse historical facts into his stories and make them his own so smoothly while still making it a solid page turner is flawless.”
Horror Haus Books
“…being reintroduced to the characters of Secrist and Stander was like meeting up for drinks with old friends! …strong Stephen King vibes… It really was everything I love in a horror book…”
Tersie- Goodreads
“…absolutely soooo relatable! Gives you total Stand By Me vibes… Super Presh! …didn’t everyone go out to the woods/cornfields and drink trash beer, and smoke cigarettes while rocking out to 80s tunes?”
Caffeinatedbabbles.com Book Blog
“This book was awesome, super creepy, and addictive! …makes you stay up all night reading… The creative storyline is unpredictable… compelling and thrilling… reminds me of ‘stand by me’ with the kids banter and antics, but way more messed up and terrifying…”
Karen- Amazon