Nothing’s Real on Reality TV—Or is It?

Everyone knows Kell Simmons manages the Matthews brothers, the three hottest stars in Hollywood: action hero Ryan, romantic lead Ash, and sports star Jonah. But no one knows that she’s hopelessly in love with one of them.

When Ryan’s surprise engagement to a fan just about breaks Kell’s heart, Ash, himself unhappily in love, lends his shoulder to cry on. All this is great fodder for a reality TV show, one for which the brothers sign on for, and soon the days of their lives are filled with scripted dates, fake drama, and real heartache—all in front of a camera.

As the brothers’ popularity skyrockets into the stratosphere, Kell finds herself wondering how much, if any, of the spotlight she wants, if it means foregoing real love for fun and games on TV.

Cover Design: Laura Duffy

Cover Artwork: Hugo Lacasse

On the trail, anything can happen.

After secrets and betrayal shatter his marriage, Josh Mallory seeks solace on the Pacific Crest Trail, in the mountains of Washington. On the trail, he’s just another hiker. On the trail, he can outrun the memories. But this backpacking trip swiftly turns grisly when he comes across the body of another hiker who seems to have fallen to his death. Josh is forced to detour through a small mountain town, where missing hiker posters clutter the windows and residents show no interest in hearing about the dead hiker. Unease that something is not quite right chases him back to the trail.

But night falls too quickly and in his haste to get away, Josh becomes trapped on a mountain ridge beneath the light of a full moon. Feeling more and more uneasy, Josh soon realizes that he may not be alone on the mountain, and begins to fear that, like the missing hikers, he won’t make it out alive.

“The serpentine trails that twist and twine throughout Alexander James’ towering debut all lead to one destination: absolute terror.”

—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Ghost Eaters

Hardcover ISBN 9780744302356 | $26.99 | Releases 8/22/2023

Alexander spent most of his childhood in southern Germany, and then went to culinary school in South Louisiana. He’s worked as a chef in everything from atrocious mall restaurants to a northern Italian farm-to-fork joint with Michelin dreams. He started writing because he’s only got another ten years or so left in his knees. When he’s not sweating through a crushing dinner service, he’s either drinking Scotch whiskey in front of his computer keyboard or backpacking . . . also with Scotch whiskey.