When an unexpected death forces Christopher “Kit” McNeil to return to his small hometown in the Tennessee mountains after eighteen years, he must confront his past and a secret he’s kept since he was twelve.
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A talented guitarist with a history of bad choices and even worse luck, Kit soon reunites with an old friend and learns about recent disappearances and mysterious deaths in the area. They begin to wonder if it’s connected to what they witnessed in the woods when they were kids and if a creepy local family is involved. Stranger still, almost half of their high school graduating class has died.
When more shredded bodies begin appearing, Kit becomes a suspect. But what he discovers is even more frightening—evil has set its sights on him and his friends and it won’t stop until it gets what it needs.
“The novel grew out of numerous conversations with a friend of mine. He grew up in a rural community like Black Rock. A lot of his classmates and friends have died—more than would be expected (or normal) for such a small school. It was as if his town was under a curse. I used that as my inspiration and the story just took off and grew from there,” says J. Todd Kingrea about the inspiration behind the novel. “I’m also a huge horror fan so I had a lot of fun writing this.”
- “A terrific, slow-burning tale of small-town evil.” —Jeremy Bates, author of Suicide Forest
- “…like surviving a dark ride designed by Stephen King. The story of an antihero revisiting his Tennessee hometown to defeat a creeping evil was scary, delicious, and fun.” —Steven Ramirez, author of the Hellborn Series
- “King and Koontz are only a couple inspirational ingredients…for this dark recipe is all of Kingrea’s own. The story builds a foundation of dread and support beams of unease that are absolutely necessary for small town horror to work. Kingrea pulls it off with deft authority and inspiration. Recommended for horror and thriller fans of all stripes.” —Ben Ethridge, Bram Stoker Award-winning Author of Black & Orange
WITH A BLIGHTED TOUCH releases on October 24, 2023 in hardcover, trade softcover, ebook, and audio. Blend the small-town of Stephen King, the creepy kids of John Saul, with a nod to Lovecraft's Cthulhu, mix it up with the imagination and uniqueness of Kingrea, and strap in for a dark and delicious scary ride. Creepy and intense, this claustrophobic small-town horror novel will appeal to fans of retro horror.
J. Todd Kingrea is the author of the Deiparian Saga trilogy: The Witchfinder (nominated for a 2021 Pushcart Prize), The Crimson Fathers, and Bane of the Witch (slated for a 2024 release). He’s also written two nonfiction books and writes movie reviews for Screem magazine.
When not writing he enjoys collecting and watching movies, reading, lurking in dusty old bookstores, and wishing for some distant relative that he doesn’t know to bequeath him a decrepit trunk full of Eldritch Tomes and a beach house. Until such a time, he and his wife live outside Chattanooga with their two dogs.