Book excerpt: In this “whip-smart, horror-tinged whodunnit in the style of early Stephen King” (Julia Bartz, New York Times bestselling author), a young father must clear his name and protect his queer son when his wealthy new wife’s televangelist grandfather is found murdered. For years, single father Toby Tucker has done his best to keep his sensitive young son, Luca, safe from the bigotry of the world. But when Toby marries Alyssa Wright—the granddaughter of a famed televangelist known for his grandiose Old Testament preaching—he can’t imagine the world of religion, wealth, and hate that he and Luca are about to enter. A trip to the Wright family’s compound in sun-scorched Texas soon turns hellish when Toby realizes that Alyssa and the rest of her brood have dangerous plans for him and his son. The situation only grows worse when a freak storm cuts off the roads and the family patriarch is found murdered, stabbed in the chest on the roof of their sprawling mansion. Suspicion immediately turns to Toby, but when his son starts describing a spectral figure in a black suit lurking around the house with unfinished business in mind, Toby realizes this family has more than murderer to conceal—and to fear. As the Wrights close in on Luca, no one is prepared for the lengths Toby will go in the fight to clear his name and protect his son in this “grand gothic story as enthralling as it is terrifying” (S.A. Cosby, New York Times bestselling author).