HONORED WITH A STARRED REVIEW IN PUBLISHERS WEEKLY’S BEST BOOKS OF 2014 SPECIAL ISSUE.
“Hickmon unleashes a shocking blitzkrieg of murder, conspiracy, and child abuse in this disturbing, breathlessly plotted murder mystery […] Eschewing easy answers for moral complexity, this thriller is unsettling entertainment that offers catharsis.” — Publishers Weekly
1324: A Dark Thriller
Detective William Hursel has worked countless murder cases, staring down the cruelest deeds humanity has to offer. But nothing prepares him for what he’ll uncover while pursuing 14-year-old Christopher Pesner, a suspect in the brutal rage-killing of his own mother. While news reports focus on Chris’s odd obsession with the violent, blasphemous heavy metal band, Rehoboam, Hursel suspects a deeper motive — a hunch that is confirmed when Chris’s second victim is discovered. Racing to piece together the identity of Chris’s next target, Hursel descends into a shadowy underworld where human traffickers ply the wealthy and powerful with unseemly indulgences.“intensely involving as the plot hastens to its climax” — Kirkus Reviews
“succeeded in unnerving me” — Darkness Beckons
“a hard-hitting, emotionally charged crime story” — Midwest Book Review
“Riveting and appropriately disturbing from cover to cover” — San Francisco Book Review
“doesn’t let go till the end” – Fresh Fiction