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by J. H. Kimbrell (Author)
In this new entry into the Weird West genre, town marshal Hiram Wells finds himself caught in a battle of wits with an enemy he never expected or believed in: vampires. The train doesn't stop in Mica Bend, Arizona anymore, "the Bend," as the locals call it. The silver mines are played out, and the post office is about to close, but a few diehards hang on, folks too stubborn or exhausted to leave. Hiram is one of them. Recently widowed, he's left with three children and a heap of grief. While his beautiful teenage daughter dreams of escaping the small desert town, his youngest are satisfied to lose themselves in the penny dreadfuls his brother sends from the old family press back east. But leaving the place where you buried your wife is hard, and Hiram has a rare gift that keeps him chained there: an uncanny memory that files away every image, word and event he experiences. A handy tool if you're a crime solving lawman, but a curse when you're looking to heal from your past.
When a troupe of actors rolls into the Bend, what's left of the populace are excited to come out on the town and be entertained. But there is something about this troupe and their charismatic leader, Cage Edwards. Something unsettling. Like a piano out of tune.
Soon, Hiram is confounded after two prisoners are found brutally and bizarrely murdered in his own jail. Then body parts are discovered half-buried in the desert near town, and his teenage daughter goes missing, driving Hiram on a desperate search for answers that may lie in the pulp stories his kids love to read. With the help of Pastor Becker, who just happens to be the town doctor, and his best friend, saloon owner Silas LeBlanc, Hiram will be forced to deal with his own demons before he confronts the likes of Cage Edwards and accepts that there are more things in Heaven and Earth than he ever imagined. With time running out, Hiram finds himself caught in a battle of wits with an ancient enemy, his resolve utterly tested and his humanity at stake.
