Novels by Paul VanDorn

Hiraeth

Officer Joe Kott settled into his cruiser prepared for another long midnight shift in rural Red Hook, Illinois. He planned on spending this night as he spent most. Listening to Todd Zeelander’s weird radio show, smoking cigarettes, and drinking coffee to try and stay awake. But the driver of a dark blue 1970 Mustang Boss 302 disrupts his plans, and before day breaks, Officer Kott’s cruiser is discovered abandoned, and he is left to find his way through a world that even Zeelander wouldn’t believe.

Inaki

The small farming town of Chesapeake Station in southern Illinois has a dark secret. For nearly 300 years, a creature known as the Inaki has fed on the blood of the innocent. Those with the power to stop it have chosen not to, placing their power and wealth above all else. Now it is up to anthropologist Nick Ryan who is visiting Chesapeake Station to study the Native American Nation of the Mooka’am who vanished in the 1700’s, to dig deeper and unlock the mystery surrounding the legend of the Inaki. Along the way, Nick must face the demons of his past and come face to face with the monster that drove his father to madness.

Challenging Entropy

Detective Charlotte Rittenhouse of the Northeastern Major Crimes Task Force has been assigned to investigate the brutal murders of four women in northern Iowa. While it’s apparent that the murders are connected, it isn’t clear until a fifth woman is taken that they are tied to a series of murders that occurred in Chicago almost ten years earlier. Now Rittenhouse must enlist the aid of a disgraced US Marshal and a campus security guard if there is any hope of finding the missing woman before she becomes the next victim of the infamous Tooth Fairy.

Diastole

Having barely survived his first journey through the brutal and unforgiving world of the Territories, Joe Kott must once again pierce the veil between the two worlds if he hopes to save the people he has come to know and care for. But as perilous as his first trip had been, it might not prove enough to get him through again. Not without the help of a dangerously gifted 12-year-old girl named Tine and a few other good souls he meets along the way. But if he manages to survive, Joe may finally bring balance to his life and peace to the Territories once and for all.

Yellowbird

There has been a terrible accident out on Jubal Brown Pass. A fourteen year old girl has been killed and Eddie Barajas of the Powers County Sheriffs department has been called to investigate. But what seems like a simple yet tragic hit and run quickly turns into something more sinister as another young girl from the same town goes missing. Will Eddie Barajas be able to unravel the strange clues in time to save the missing teen or is he already too late?

Downfall: Hiraeth Book 3

Downfall will follow Joe Kott as he returns home from the Territories to find his world quite different and far more dangerous than when he left it. Coming Summer, 2023