The Secrets Beneath Pine Lake (Out of Range Book 1)

by C L Persons

Ebook $0.99

Some secrets are buried deep. Others are waiting just beneath the surface. Nine years ago, high school golden girl Wendolyn Mathew vanished into thin air after a summer bonfire at Pine Lake Camp. The town of Cold Springs found its culprit in bad-boy Tyler Thompson, letting whisper and rumor seal his fate without a trace of hard evidence. Now an investigative journalist, Elsa Krissley returns to the lakeside town to record the final season of her true-crime podcast. She expects hostile locals, shuttered cabins, and cold trails. What she doesn’t expect is a break-in under her own floorboards, an old silver bracelet left as a warning, and Tyler Thompson cornering her with a waterlogged diary that was never meant to be found. On page forty-two lies a confession that shatters nine years of small-town certainty. Caught between Devon Baxter—the principled deputy determined to keep her safe—and Tyler, the outcast desperate to clear his name, Elsa must uncover the truth about who Wendolyn was running from that night. But the power players who rule Blackwood County have built empires on silent ground, and they will pull anyone under to keep Wendolyn’s grave hidden. A gripping, atmospheric small-town romantic thriller full of dark family secrets, murder, and redemption. This is a short story of less than 15,000 words. It is a complete story and can be read by itself or with the remaining stories in the series. Look for the next book story in Out of Range, due out Christmas 2026.

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