The Landlord

Horace Creely's Notebooks Book 1

What if evil didn’t rage… but reasoned?

When Gina finds a house she can afford for reasons she doesn’t understand, she tells herself she’s finally caught a break. The rent is impossibly low. The landlord is unfailingly kind. The town is quiet in the way quiet places often are—polite, orderly, and full of old stories no one quite believes anymore.

But kindness without motive is unsettling.
And stories survive for a reason.

As Gina’s influence online grows, so do the consequences of her words. Rumors harden into truths. Accusations become verdicts. And every time the town’s balance tips too far, someone disappears.

Watching it all is George Smythe—her landlord, her benefactor, and something far older than either role should allow.

Recovered from the handwritten notebooks of a lighthouse keeper found frozen to his post with the light still burning, The Landlord is a chilling meditation on moral certainty, collective punishment, and the cost of believing that good intentions excuse devastating outcomes.

This is not a story about monsters at the door.
It’s about the ones who hold it open—and politely ask you to step inside.