The perfect book for those who fancy the darker, grittier side of mystery. A hit-you-in-the-guts psych thriller, this is a compelling story of one man’s search for truth and inner peace. Mystery Scene

This is a story for those who can handle grit with their detective fiction . . . provocative and disturbing portrait of Cape Cod youth running seriously amok. It’s worth the turn of the screw on the reader’s thumbs, however, for Mr. Peffer’s unforgettable characters, startling revelations, and haunting New England atmospherics. Vineyard Gazette

Returning to his hometown was something Billy Bagwell always dreaded. But he felt he owed it to Tina, the object of his childhood sexual obsession, to see her off properly. Even in death she could seduce him to her. Upon his return to Woods Hole on Cape Cod, Billy’s past with his old friends especially his best friend, present-day Catholic priest Zal floods his mind with classic machismo and rite-of-passage boyhood events. But some of their moments were a bit darker, and all seemed to revolve around or involve Tina . . . moments that Billy didn’t want to remember.

This psycho-thriller carries Billy deeper and deeper into long-repressed memories of 35-year-old crimes. As the days grow darker, Billy finds himself caught in a turbulent tide of past homoerotic encounters, lost innocence, rage, religion, and lust.

Randall Peffer is the author of Watermen, Logs of the Dead Pirates Society, and many travel guides. His writing has appeared in Smithsonian, Reader’s Digest, National Geographic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, San Francisco Examiner, Chicago Tribune, and many other publications. He teaches literature and writing at Phillips Academy Andover. This is his first novel.