Troubled Spirits

It’s the day of his ex-wife’s wedding when Dan makes the winding mountain journey to a remote cabin for an escape from the life that another man has stepped into. Less than 48 hours into his reprieve, the forest tranquility is shattered when he looks through a telescope and witnesses the violent abduction of a young woman. Dan springs into action, but there’s no evidence of an abduction nor reports of a missing woman. That is, until Dan sees the missing person’s poster for Ivy Trent. 

When Rowan and her family move into the 1800s home nestled in the woods on a bluff near Lake Michigan, she's looking forward to a summer reprieve. However, she soon discovers that Helme House harbors dark secrets, including people who have vanished from the house and never been found. 

Lorraine Hicks is 14 years old when she watches her best friend, Beverly, climb into a tree in the forest and never come back down. It’s a mystery that haunts her small town and embeds itself in Lorraine's life. Fifteen years later, Lori is a grown woman, doing her best to move on from her troubled childhood. She reluctantly agrees to a night of camping, despite her secret terror of the woods. As she sits by a roaring bonfire, a man stands and tells the story of two 14-year-old friends who walked into the Manistee National Forest - only one of them walked back out.

Two years ago, Gloria Cline had the worst night of her life. A music festival deep in the woods near the Porcupine Mountains turned deadly when Gloria and her best friend, Wren, went for a night walk. Twenty-four hours later, Gloria was found barely clinging to life with a horrific story of being abducted and nearly murdered. No trace of Wren was ever found. Today, Gloria has walled herself into a safe world that relies on routine and familiarity. She doesn’t leave her apartment—ever. But somehow evil has gotten in.

When Alley is chosen for a six week writing residency in an isolated stone house, she’s elated. As a single, working mom, she’s spent most of her adult life caring for others. The residency is a dream come true, and an opportunity to finish her memoir.