A killer hides in the wreckage of a broken town...

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Summer has the small town of Sandy Lake in its hot, miserable grip. Detective Ben Packard has finally settled into life here – just in time for a tornado to sweep through the county, causing irreparable damage. Trees are felled, homes destroyed, and people are desperate.

 

Hiding among the debris is someone with a secret.

 

When a mother who made enemies defending her bullied son is killed, the suspect list stretches across the entire town. For Packard, the case hits uncomfortably close to home. The deeper he digs, the more Sandy Lake hums with a tension that refuses to break.

 

As thick smoke from nearby wildfires chokes the air, someone from Packard’s past shows up on his doorstep without warning, forcing him to confront the reality of navigating life as a gay man in a small town bent on tradition, no matter the cost.

 

The heat suffocates. The violence simmers. Before the summer is out, someone else will die.

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PUB DATE MAY 26 2026