From bestselling author Ken Pratt comes a thrilling new chapter in the Jessup County Chronicles, set in a world where past and present collide.
It's 1932, and journalist Alex Wentworth is eager to unearth the forgotten stories of Matt Bannister's legendary past. While seeking to revisit the Hollister Sheep Shooter's War, Alex instead discovers a chilling account that picks up where the war's tragedy left off-a tale hidden since the Branson Gazette went up in flames.
Months after surviving a brutal assault, fifteen-year-old Laura Whitehead is trapped in a nightmare. Forbidden from seeing her beloved Jake Thomas, and reeling from the revelation that she's pregnant by one of her attackers, Laura faces her father's desperate attempts to end the pregnancy at any cost. But the shadows deepen when Jesse Helms, one of the men responsible, learns of the child and plots to claim it for his own.
With the help of his embittered aunt, Mattie Sperry, Jesse devises a sinister plan: kidnap Laura and force her into captivity, raising the child as his own. For Mattie, it's a chance to rebuild her shattered life. For Laura, it's a descent into horror.
As Laura vanishes, U.S. Marshal Matt Bannister and his deputies, Morton Sperry and Truet Davis, are thrust into a desperate search. With no leads, no motive, and a ruthless gang covering its tracks, Matt faces his toughest challenge yet. Can he unravel the twisted conspiracy before Laura's fate is sealed?
Packed with unrelenting tension and unforgettable characters, Caustic October delivers a powerful story of survival and the pursuit of justice.
