In this haunting, suspenseful debut novel, John Mantooth takes readers to a town in rural Alabama where secrets are buried deep, reality is relative, and salvation requires a desperate act of faith.
When Danny was fourteen, his mother and sister disappeared during a violent storm. The police were baffled. There were no clues, and most people figured they were dead. Only Danny still holds out hope that they'll return.
Months later, a disheveled Vietnam vet named Walter Pike shows up at Danny's front door, claiming to know their whereabouts. The story he tells is so incredible that Danny knows he shouldn't believe him. Others warn him about Walter Pike's dark past, his shameful flight from town years ago, and the suspicious timing of his return.
But he's Danny's last hope, and Danny needs to believe...
"Powerful, dark, and heartfelt. The Year of the Storm is a wonderful coming of age novel by a very talented new writer. An astounding debut."-John Rector, Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of Already Gone, The Grove, and The Cold Kiss
"A dark and mysterious southern-gothic story with hints of Tom Franklin's Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter and Stephen King's novella The Body, John Mantooth's voice is masculine and powerful, flavoring the pages with the Alabama wilderness, the turmoil of family and how all of these elements work to shape and nurture teenage boys into men."-Frank Bill, author of Crimes in Southern Indiana and Donnybrook
"As strong a debut novel as any I've read in a long time. It's frightening and sad, vicious and unforgiving, quiet and contemplative. It's a helluva start to what's surely going to be a career worth watching."-fearnet.com
"The Year of the Storm by John Mantooth is the very definition of "attention grabber." It is a flat out page turner. It is a rare thriller which combines elements of rural noir, supernatural horror, and is an intense dual coming of age story that is as spellbinding as anything from horror masters such as Stephen King and Laird Barron."-litreactor.com
"Masterful foreshadowing... A tough and violent book, but also one with prose that aches with loss."-Booklist
JOHN MANTOOTH is the award winning author of two novels and a short story collection. His first novel, The Year of the Storm, was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. He has also published three crime novels under the pseudonym Hank Early. Heaven's Crooked Finger (written as Hank Early) was a Next Generation Indie Book award winner and 2017 Foreword Indies Award Finalist. He lives in Alabama with his wife and two children.
