Summary: A boy from a left-behind mining town in West Virginia seeks outside help to find his missing sister. He finds it in the form of Detective Dominic Alexander, who is both the best and worst person for the job. As one of the only residents to ever leave the very same town, Dominic is uniquely qualified, as well as personally driven, to bring home this missing girl. He hunts and digs for the cause of the disappearances, and in the process unearths more secrets about the place than he could have possibly imagined.
Content: profanity, death, blood, gore, the general horror staples
Critique I am looking for: Does the pacing work? Do certain plot points not work for you or feel inorganic / unbelievable? Prose, characterization, dialogue -- any of that particularly good or bad? How do the general mystery / unknown elements of the novel work for you? Are things too obvious or is there an appropriate level of intrigue? Is anything about the story scary / mysterious / horror-appropriate?
Please DM me and I can share the first few chapters to see if you might be interested! Or comment below and I can reach out myself! Thanks.
I can critique: fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, horror, western, various. Open to most other genres but I may not find pure romance my cup of tea. But open to give anything a shot.
Specific feedback capabilities and qualifications: dialogue, characterization, narrative, relationships, world building, other specifics upon request. I have experience in financial services work, some tech, various sports if those are of any use for your particular story. US urban resident if that is of significance as well. Have beta read a handful of novels of various genres in the past. Have also done plenty of swaps and analysis of the same kind for screenplays and short films.