Eyes of the Forest will publish August 24, 2021
About the book
After a bestselling fantasy writer disappears, only his biggest fan believes he’s in danger. Instead of re-reading his books, she must venture into the real world to uncover the truth.
Bridget found refuge in RM Haldon's epic fantasy series, Swords and Shadows, as her mom, another fan, was losing her battle with cancer. Bridget cared about the series first, not the author. But when she met Haldon at one of his rare book signings, she impressed him with her encyclopedic knowledge of the fantasy world he created. She has been working for him ever since, as he attempts to write the final book in his blockbuster sword-and-sorcery series. Now he has gone missing, and Bridget is the only person who feels concerned. Can she piece together Haldon’s cryptic clues and save him before it’s too late?
Reviews
When the police do not believe that Portland, Oregon, author R.M. Haldon has been kidnapped, it’s up to his young researcher, Bridget Shepherd, to save him.
Famous fantasy author Haldon, who bears similarities to George R.R. Martin, has been trying to finish the much-anticipated final book in his Swords and Shadows series. What happens when he wakes up trapped in a cabin, chained to a treadmill desk, with some food and water and a note ordering him to write? Communicating via coded messages, he can only hope that Bridget, the 17-year-old high school student who helps him with research, will realize something is wrong. Bridget came into his life at a reading during which she demonstrated her encyclopedic knowledge of his world. Her attachment to the Swords and Shadows books stems from reading them with her mother during the painful years before she died of cancer. Afterward, lonely Bridget had few friends left, and her workaholic father was frequently absent. Now the books allow her to open up to classmate Ajay as she shares with him the fantasy world she loves—but, like the police, Ajay doubts her theory, and Bridget must act alone. The excellent pacing, shifting between the perspectives of the main characters, adds to the suspenseful feeling of a ticking clock, and readers come to understand everyone’s motivations. Apart from Indian American Ajay, main characters are White.
Offers a suspenseful and dastardly plot entwined with fan culture and mystery. (Thriller. 12-18)
—Kirkus
About the book
After a bestselling fantasy writer disappears, only his biggest fan believes he’s in danger. Instead of re-reading his books, she must venture into the real world to uncover the truth.
Bridget found refuge in RM Haldon's epic fantasy series, Swords and Shadows, as her mom, another fan, was losing her battle with cancer. Bridget cared about the series first, not the author. But when she met Haldon at one of his rare book signings, she impressed him with her encyclopedic knowledge of the fantasy world he created. She has been working for him ever since, as he attempts to write the final book in his blockbuster sword-and-sorcery series. Now he has gone missing, and Bridget is the only person who feels concerned. Can she piece together Haldon’s cryptic clues and save him before it’s too late?
Reviews
When the police do not believe that Portland, Oregon, author R.M. Haldon has been kidnapped, it’s up to his young researcher, Bridget Shepherd, to save him.
Famous fantasy author Haldon, who bears similarities to George R.R. Martin, has been trying to finish the much-anticipated final book in his Swords and Shadows series. What happens when he wakes up trapped in a cabin, chained to a treadmill desk, with some food and water and a note ordering him to write? Communicating via coded messages, he can only hope that Bridget, the 17-year-old high school student who helps him with research, will realize something is wrong. Bridget came into his life at a reading during which she demonstrated her encyclopedic knowledge of his world. Her attachment to the Swords and Shadows books stems from reading them with her mother during the painful years before she died of cancer. Afterward, lonely Bridget had few friends left, and her workaholic father was frequently absent. Now the books allow her to open up to classmate Ajay as she shares with him the fantasy world she loves—but, like the police, Ajay doubts her theory, and Bridget must act alone. The excellent pacing, shifting between the perspectives of the main characters, adds to the suspenseful feeling of a ticking clock, and readers come to understand everyone’s motivations. Apart from Indian American Ajay, main characters are White.
Offers a suspenseful and dastardly plot entwined with fan culture and mystery. (Thriller. 12-18)
—Kirkus