Some moments linger forever. Some curses can’t be broken. Some crimes refuse to stay buried.

With the eerie thrills of Dean Koontz, Dan Newman’s seething suspense brings a young man back to St. Lucia, where he grew up, and where his guilt for the part he played in a murder continues to haunt.

Now, thirty years later, Nate responds to his father’s suicide with a trip back to St. Lucia, the land where he was raised as an outsider, tolerated but not accepted. As a boy he ventured out to the plantation of Ti Fenwe with three others—weak-willed Pip, and cousins Richard and Tristan. Surrounded on all sides by dense jungle, the boys explore, their only rule to be back in the house before nightfall. Because at Ti Fenwe, something ancient stalks the jungle, its reputation more horrifying than any of the boys can comprehend.

But it’s a very real enemy who changes the boys forever, and snuffs out a life. Decades later, Nate comes back to finally gain a measure of peace over his role in the killing, and to uncover the deadly secrets of St. Lucia once and for all.

"Told in lush, hypnotic prose that perfectly mirrors its mysterious Caribbean landscape, THE CLEARING is one man's quest for the brutal truth at the heart of his deadly self-deception...An intoxicating, important debut."—Laura Benedict, author of ISABELLA MOON and DEVIL’S OVEN

"THE CLEARING is a dark and atmospheric psychological thriller, full of intrigue, terror and superstition, which examines our deep fear of the unknown."—GUMSHOE REVIEWS

Dan Newman counts his having been raised "in-transit" around the globe as his most valuable education - despite a Masters degree in Journalism. The son of a globe-trotting international development worker, Dan grew up in St. Lucia, Lesotho, Swaziland, England, Canada, and Australia. Ask him where he comes from and you'll get a puzzled look, but it's left a love of travel, writing and far-flung places. He now lives with his wife and son just outside of Toronto, Canada.

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"Told in lush, hypnotic prose that perfectly mirrors its mysterious Caribbean landscape, The Clearing is one man's quest for the brutal truth at the heart of his deadly self-deception. Throughout, Dan Newman keeps the lines of suspense tense and razor-sharp. An intoxicating, important debut." -Laura Benedict, author of Isabella Moon and Devil's Oven

"THE CLEARING is a dark and atmospheric psychological thriller, full of intrigue, terror and superstition, which examines our deep fear of the unknown."—GUMSHOE REVIEWS