{"product_id":"before-the-shadows-rufus-watson-9798330618057","title":"Before the Shadows","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlder Glen is a town shaped by secrets, where the pine trees never move quite the way they should and the night carries more than simple darkness. Evan Miller never believed the stories whispered through Shadowood Forest. He grew up hearing old poems, family warnings, and strange superstitions from a grandfather who seemed to drift further from reality each year, yet he always assumed they were nothing more than the remnants of an overactive imagination.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen tragedy fractures the life he once knew, Evan is pulled into a legacy he never asked to inherit. A hidden amulet emerges from the ruins of his past. A presence stirs within the trees and begins to take shape. The Huntress watches from the shadows, patient and relentless, and the forest seems to recognize him in a way that feels unsettlingly intimate.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvan's search for answers leads him through the weight of grief, the unraveling of long buried family history, and the quiet spark growing between him and Riley, a boy whose gentle presence reveals truths Evan has avoided for too long. As his sense of reality begins to distort, he must decide whether the danger is coming from the world around him or from something rising within him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBefore the Shadows\u003c\/strong\u003e serves as a prequel and sequel to \u003cem\u003eThe Shadows Within\u003c\/em\u003e. It unfolds slightly before that story begins, crosses through the same timeline, and continues the narrative beyond it. Although connected to the larger world of Evergreen Falls and Shadowood Forest, it can be read independently without any knowledge of \u003cem\u003eThe Shadows Within\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis novel blends psychological horror with queer identity, memory distortion, small town dread, and the fear of losing oneself to forces that feel both familiar and ancient. In a place where perception bends and the past refuses to stay silent, Evan must face truths that have followed his family for generations and decide who he will become once the shadows finally close in.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Rufus Watson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798330618057\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Rufus Watson Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/05\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 252\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.57d","brand":"Rufus Watson","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49170991612159,"sku":"9798330618057","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/before-the-shadows-rufus-watson-9798330618057","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}