Thornwick Rising: The Shepherd's Gambit (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798292425342)

JonElla "Jonni" Connolly thought she'd found peace in the Vermont mountains. She was wrong.

Six months after defeating a cannibalistic Wendigo with her hellhound guardian Silas, Jonni has settled into her role as protector of the Thornwick community. Her food truck serves fusion cuisine to hikers and locals, her protective jewelry guards against supernatural threats, and the bonds she's forged prove that chosen family can be stronger than blood.

But when mysterious Pukwudgies begin "helpfully" reorganizing her supplies and Silas starts showing signs of supernatural weakness, Jonni's hard-earned instincts whisper warnings about a new kind of danger.

Enter Dr. Chelsea Brauer-a charismatic folklore expert with perfect credentials and impeccable timing who offers exactly the help Thornwick needs.

Everyone loves Chelsea immediately. Everyone except Jonni, whose inherited ability to see through manipulation has kept her alive through family trauma, energy vampires, and supernatural predators. But questioning the community's new savior makes Jonni look paranoid, especially when Chelsea seems genuinely knowledgeable and eager to help.

What Jonni discovers will shatter everything she thought she knew about the threats they face.

The Wendigo wasn't a random supernatural occurrence-it was a test case. The Shepherds, a centuries-old network trafficking children through political corruption and institutional capture, have chosen Thornwick as their proving ground for supernatural warfare techniques. They've been building portal infrastructure in the mountain cave systems, systematically gathering psychological profiles on community members, and planning an assault designed to eliminate supernatural resistance once and for all.

When the dead rise in the local cemetery and a banshee's otherworldly wail echoes through the mountains, Jonni realizes these aren't separate incidents-they're coordinated attacks meant to isolate her from community support while Chelsea destroys their unity from within using "reactive abuse" tactics that weaponize empathy against its victims.

With Silas weakened by binding hexes, a young hellhound named Ezra arriving to help defend their sanctuary, and time running out before the Shepherds complete their supernatural infrastructure, Jonni must trust the power her Appalachian grandmother always said lived in her voice-the same authority that once faced down a mountain lion and commanded respect from those who would do harm.

But the Shepherds' gambit goes deeper than anyone imagined, and the portal network represents a threat that extends far beyond one small mountain community. Other isolated towns throughout New England are being targeted, and Thornwick's resistance has marked them for total elimination.

Some communities fight back with conventional weapons. Others rely on law enforcement that can be bought or intimidated. But Thornwick has something the Shepherds never expected: ancient guardians with blue flames, a woman who refuses to be manipulated, and bonds of protection that prove stronger than any supernatural corruption.

From the author of Cottage Guardian comes a supernatural thriller about institutional evil, psychological manipulation, and the extraordinary courage found in ordinary communities that refuse to be broken.

Perfect for readers who love:

• Strong female protagonists who solve problems through intelligence and determination
• Supernatural fiction grounded in real-world social issues
• Stories about chosen family and community resilience
• Appalachian folklore and protective magic
• Characters who see through manipulation and stand against corruption
• Hellhounds with hearts of gold and protective instincts

Book 2 in the Thornwick Chronicles When darkness calls, some communities call back.