2017 International Book Awards Winner (Mystery/Suspense)

Winner of the 2017 Colorado Book Award (Thriller)

“This is a sledgehammer of a novel, slamming away at the foundations of modern cult religions until nothing is left but rubble to be carted away. It's a powerful story…An intense experience for those who can take it.” —Booklist

When Harden Campbell wakes cold and beaten in a dirt-floor cell, he finds only three other things in the room with him: the mutilated body of his good friend, an ancient typewriter, and a stack of blank paper, the top sheet of which has a single, typed sentence.

Tell me a story.

He knows the message is from Coyote, his brilliant, megalomaniacal roommate whose lust for power and reverence has recently revealed him for the true sociopath he is. Now, as the founder of a new religion with disturbing roots—Revelation—Coyote's most evil side has emerged. From the moment Harden sees that stack of paper, he knows his one chance of escape is through his own words, and only his ability to successfully recount the dark story of what happened over the past year at Wyland University will determine whether he lives to see the woman he loves once again or is silenced forever.

This will be the most difficult story Harden has ever written, and each word must be chosen with the utmost care. Because Coyote will be reading each and every one of them.

Carter Wilson