Death's Valley — Leonard D. Hilley II

THEIR DARKEST HOURS YET . . . "Everyone dies . . . eventually," she said. Mitch Niles' first investigative assignment for the Kat Gaddis Agency lands him in the dark city of Salem, Oregon. The two gruesome murders in Salem point to the grim speculation that more shifters or genetic monsters have emerged. But Niles' discoveries place his life in direct danger as he uncovers more grave secrets in the dead of the night. The shutdown of GenTech and Mech Cybernetics had left one miscreant scientist still on the loose. Alpha. The hunt to find him continues so they can shut down his operations before his genetic soldiers mature. After Matthews escapes from prison, Lydia goes rogue, accepting her life as the assassin General Idris created her to be. Lucian nears death, as the genetic enhancers that keep him alive are no longer working. Hired assassins pursue Joe-Shadow-talker for the alien skull and are more than willing to kill him or anyone else that gets in their way. "Leonard D. Hilley II writes with a dark veracity, giving real life to a world slightly askew. There's always a sense that something is lurking in the shadows, just beyond the 'normal' world." Paul Counelis, writer for Rue Morgue