Dark River Inn by J.R. Erickson

If you’re searching for a paranormal thriller you’ll be reading all night, grab Dark River Inn-the first in a series of stand-alone haunted mysteries inspired by true crimes.

It’s the day of his ex-wife’s wedding and Dan, a detective on leave, navigates winding mountain roads to put some distance between himself and his past. His destination: a desolate cabin. A refuge, or perhaps a prison of his own making, as he seeks solace from the life that another man has seamlessly stepped into.

But Dan’s solitude is quickly shattered when he peers through a weathered telescope. There, amidst the swaying shadows of the trees, he becomes an unwilling witness to a malevolent act—a young woman seized by violence and yanked into the dark forest.

A surge of adrenaline propels Dan from his sanctuary, plunging him into a relentless quest to unveil the truth. Yet, like the echoes of a chilling scream fading into the dense woods, all signs of the horrific event dissipate. Law enforcement remains oblivious, files barren of any reports, and the forest’s breath returns to an eerie stillness.

Dan is at a loss, deeply disturbed by the abduction, but unable to follow any trail in search of the young woman.

That is until he chances upon a tattered missing person’s poster and the pieces of his nightmarish puzzle begin to assemble. The face staring back at him is that of Ivy Trent. He’s certain, beyond reason, that this Ivy is the same woman he witnessed being abducted only days prior. A conviction as firm as gravestones, if it weren’t for one impossible detail— Ivy vanished a decade before.

As tendrils of obsession coil around his sanity, Dan embarks on a harrowing journey. Flickering specters and long-buried secrets claw their way to the surface. The boundary between this world and the next thins, and Dan begins to wonder if a dead girl is guiding him to the truth.

For those who seek a tale that defies the veil between life and death, a haunting story inspired by a true crime, Dark River Inn awaits you.