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In 1996, SSA Michael O’Leary of the FBI’s Child Abduction and Serial Killer Unit (CASKU) investigated the abduction of Amelia Reardon, the five year old daughter of textile heiress Annabelle Sinclair Reardon. Annabelle was attacked by the kidnapper, brutalized, and left for dead. Michael found Amelia, but what happened after that horrific discovery sent him into a spiraling depression, resulting in his resignation.

Annabelle Reardon survives her attack, coming out of it to learn she possesses a very slight psychic ability, a talent causing more awkwardness and embarrassment than any concrete benefit. Using her considerable personal resources, she founds the National Center Victims Advocacy Group (NCVAG), an organization dedicated to assisting and supporting the victims of violent crimes. One of her first actions is persuading Michael to come into the fold and use his training and skills.

December 23, 1999. When a member of a local boys’ choir performing at a shopping mall brushes against her, Annabelle has a vision of an actual vampire; swirling cloak, bloody fangs, emanating an aura of menace that staggers her. The ‘vision’ induces such terror in her Annabelle is compelled to look into the matter, dragging a reluctant Michael with her.

Using the resources available to them through the NCVAG, Michael and Annabelle begin an investigation on Christmas Eve that takes them from Washington, D.C. to the beauty of the Virginia countryside, a compassionate doctor, a private institute, and a confrontation with genuine evil on the most special of days, Christmas Morning.

This book can be purchased at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

*****

“In Will Graham’s superior thriller, SOMETIMES THERE REALLY ARE MONSTERS UNDER THE BED, nothing is as it appears—except for the man who leads us through to the other side. In Michael O’Leary, we are exposed to a new kind of hero—a tough man in an even tougher job—but his humanity and compassion for the victims he fights for shine through on every page. MONSTERS clips along at an electrifying pace, but through it all, Graham remains true to his characters. And yes, there really are monsters who live and work beside us every day. This chilling fact is at the heart of this amazing thriller, and Graham does not flinch in the telling, nor does he go overboard with gory details. A riveting read!” –J. Carson Black, author of the bestselling Laura Cardinal series”

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