The Bird Eater

Two decades ago, the unexplained death of his aunt left Aaron Holbrook without family. He walked away from his small Arkansas hometown and swore he would never return. Later, the accident that killed his seven-year-old son sent him sliding into addiction and heartbreak. Hoping to recover some part of who he used to be, he goes back to the hills where he grew up and to Holbrook House, where he expects to find calm among his childhood memories.

Calm does not come easily. Like Aaron, the house has been worn down to a fraction of its former self, and vandals and ghost hunters who call it "the devil's den" have left their mark on it. Aaron has never believed in ghosts, but that changes once a strange boy starts trailing him everywhere he goes. Violent dreams and unsettling visions follow, and he begins to fear he is losing his grip on reality.

As the story unfolds, Aaron realizes that something rotten lives at the core of Holbrook House. It hides in the shadows, feeds on his sorrow, and waits.