The Werewolves of West Virginia

Two mutilated bodies. No tracks. No weapon. And a pale ten-year-old boy who appears with the same unsettling question: "Has there been a murder?"

When experienced investigator Mr Brooks is called to a woodland crime scene, he finds a level of violence unlike anything in his career. The pathologist insists the victim was killed by an animal, yet the police discover no paw prints, fur or other evidence that any creature was there. Weeks later, a second body is found in the same woods, accompanied by torn children's clothing and another appearance from the mysterious boy.

His name is Freddie. He lives at a nearby foster home, has a history no one will discuss and arrived only shortly before the killings began.

As Brooks follows the evidence, every rational explanation begins to collapse. The foster-home manager is hiding something. Freddie's scientifically accomplished parents have vanished. Beneath their abandoned house lies a secret laboratory containing disturbing records of experiments that should never have been attempted.

The trail eventually carries Brooks across the Atlantic, from the familiar streets of Britain to an isolated community in West Virginia where strangers are watched, old families guard their bloodlines and enormous creatures move through the darkness. The residents know why Freddie was born, what awakens beneath the full moon and how far they must go to protect a secret that has survived for generations.

To solve the murders, Brooks must confront occult histories, forbidden science and fears rooted deep within his own past. But uncovering the truth creates a more difficult question. If someone is born carrying a monster they never chose, should justice demand punishment, protection or the chance to become something better?

The deeper Brooks enters the town's hidden world, the less certain he becomes about who deserves to be feared. Every answer draws him closer to a child caught between human reason and animal instinct, and to a decision that could cost them both their lives.

Blending supernatural horror, detective mystery, gothic suspense and dark humour, The Werewolves of West Virginia and the Detective from the South Wales Valleys is an atmospheric story about inherited darkness, moral responsibility, prejudice, loneliness and the unexpected bonds that can change a life.

For readers who enjoy paranormal investigations, isolated communities, sinister family secrets and emotionally driven monster fiction, this novel asks whether the most frightening creature is always the one with claws.