The Clearing

"A dark and atmospheric psychological thriller, full of intrigue, terror and superstition, which examines our deep fear of the unknown" ( Gumshoe Review).   With the eerie thrills of Dean Koontz, Dan Newman's seething suspense reveals the part a man played in a murder—and the guilt that continues to haunt him . . .   When his father commits suicide, Nate travels back to St. Lucia, the land where he was raised as an outsider, tolerated but not accepted. As a boy, he would venture out to the plantation of Ti Fenwe with three friends. The estate was surrounded on all sides by dense jungle, where the boys would go exploring, their only rule to be back in the house before nightfall. Something ancient was known to stalk the jungle—its reputation more horrifying than the boys could comprehend. But it was a very real enemy who changed the boys forever and snuffed out a life.   Decades later, Nate comes back to finally gain a measure of peace over his role in the killing—and to uncover the deadly secrets of St. Lucia once and for all.   "Told in lush, hypnotic prose that perfectly mirrors its mysterious Caribbean landscape, The Clearing is one man's quest for the brutal truth at the heart of his deadly self-deception . . . An intoxicating, important debut." —Laura Benedict, author of The Stranger Inside