Another Kind of Eden

It’s 1962 in bestseller MWA Grand Master Burke’s captivating sequel to 2016’s The Jealous Kind, and Aaron Holland Broussard, a drifting aspiring novelist, hops off a boxcar near Denver and finds work on a large farm. After the son of a local tyrannical businessman assaults Aaron and some coworkers, Jo Anne McDuffy, a beautiful art student, warns Aaron not to seek revenge. But as much as Aaron, who begins a relationship with Jo Anne, tries to suppress his violent instincts, trouble won’t let him be, with local goons and law enforcement harassing him. Meanwhile, a nefarious professor circles Jo Anne with dubious intentions. Suffering nonchemical blackouts and warding off memories of his time in the Korean War, Aaron slowly unravels as the majestic beauty of the west turns into a hellscape of murdered women, cults, and mysterious forces that might not be of this world. Sharp prose and distinctive characters help propel Aaron’s journey from earnest farmhand to tormented soul in a world of horrors. Suspense fans will be well satisfied. Agents: Philip Spitzer and Lukas Ortiz, Philip G. Spitzer Literary. (Aug.)