Periphery: A Brefniverse Supernatural Horror Thriller (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798253407868)

Baffled by unidentified corpses, including his own doppelganger, a world-weary detective with failing eyesight must utilize unique visions into an alternate universe to stop a serial killing cult leader.

It lurks at the edge of our world, a dark mirror universe that feeds off negative energy. A surreal, barren hellscape where all hope is lost... The Periphery.

Damiano Sourci seeks to change all that... at least so that it better suits him. The leader of a mystical cult known as The Collective, he urges his loyal followers, including right hand man Matt Weiland, to help fulfill an ancient prophecy, and literally take a leap of faith.

The Collective assemble on the desert plains of The Periphery, in hooded robes, consume a blinding poison, and then step off a cliff in a stunning act of mass suicide.

In our universe, known as The Core World, Matt Weiland awakens from a bad dream. A grizzled police detective, his investigation into the mysterious appearances of five unidentified corpses has thus far yielded no leads and seems to coincide with the onset of a degenerative eye condition, affecting his peripheral fields.

He then gets the call, from his partner, Faraday. More bodies. Twelve in all, dressed in robes, with astrological symbols on their backs, scattered across the main intersection in town.

It's an apocalyptic sight, and one that has brought traffic to a standstill for miles.

When he arrives on scene, Weiland is confronted with another startling revelation. One of the corpses looks exactly like him. Baffled by this ominous sight, he and Faraday, confer with witnesses, who all swear the bodies appeared out of thin air.

But another big surprise awaits Weiland. FBI Agent Kristof LeBarre leads them to the outskirts of town where one more body has been found. This one a dead ringer for Weiland's late father, who perished in a mine collapse ten years prior. Suddenly, the case has become eerily personal and prescient.

Meanwhile, in an underground chamber, within the now abandoned mine complex, Damiano Sourci has crossed worlds and set up shop, working to open a gateway to The Periphery and unleash a swarm of winged, parasitic demons known as Acherons, into our reality.

But first, he'll need to take out The Collective's opposite numbers in The Core World. Using an ancient protocol rooted in astrological magic, he sets about tracking them down, one by one, and sacrificing them in a brutally ritualistic manner.

In the county morgue, surrounded by John and Jane Doe's, Weiland, Faraday, and LeBarre struggle to make sense of the bizarre case. But it's not long before more bodies are turning up, courtesy of Sourci.

Despite his tunnel vision, it's crystal clear to Weiland what's happening, and the race is on to track down the others, beginning with Naomi, a waitress he crossed paths with earlier that day.

Weiland's eyesight deteriorates further, but grants him unique glimpses into The Periphery, out of the corner of his eyes. Haunted by Acherons at every turn, he must utilize these startling glimpses, these fleeting, yet revelatory visions, to help put an end to Sourci's plans.

As the serial killing cult leader's dark agenda comes to fruition, and Weiland's vision worsens, the troubled cop increasingly learns to walk by faith and not by sight.

PERIPHERY

From the corners of our world, a new horror is edging closer.

Author: Brefni O'Rourke
ISBN-13: 9798253407868
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 03/23/2026
Pages: 254
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.76lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.58d