The Mouth of the Dark

Jayce Lewis' twenty-year-old daughter Emory has disappeared, and he's determined to find her. During his search, he encounters a mysterious woman named Nicola who tells him Emory has become lost in a dark realm called Shadow that exists alongside our own reality. She offers to act as Jayce's guide through Shadow and help him find his daughter, and Jayce - seeing no alternative - accepts. Along the way, they encounter a well-meaning lunatic called Ohio Pig whose "help" is potentially deadly. Jayce rebuffs the Pig, and the man is not happy at being rejected. Nicola takes Jayce to a nightclub called Crimson Splendor where the beings who dwell in Shadow gather. Nicola hopes someone there might have information on what happened to Emory. They do find a lead on Emory's whereabouts, but Jayce is disturbed to learn that not only has Emory been flirting with the dark world of Shadow, his own mother once did, too - which means he has a connection to Shadow he's never been aware of. An angry Ohio Pig arrives to confront them, but before he can do anything, a horrifying being called the Harvest Man appears and begins killing everyone in the club. Jayce feels the creature is familiar, but he doesn't know why. Jayce and Nicola flee Crimson Splendor before the Harvest Man can kill them. As their investigations continue, Jayce, Nicola, and Ohio Pig are captured and taken to the Pit, a gladiatorial arena where prisoners battle to the death for the amusement of Shadowers. Can they survive the Pit? And if so, can Jayce find Emory, resolve the mystery of his family's connection to Shadow and the Harvest Man, and can he keep from becoming a monster himself in the process? FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.