Rumors have swirled around Jake Cashen his whole life. Is he crazy like his father? Is it true they booted him out of the F.B.I. right after he cracked a career-making RICO case? Was he dirty?

Only Jake knows and he's not telling.

He came back to his tiny hometown at the foot of Ohio's Blackhand Hills and joined the Sheriff's Department as a deputy. He hopes to punch a clock and keep his head down until retirement.

It was a solid plan. Until someone put a bullet in the head of a revered county judge.

Jake's new boss knows Jake has a particular set of skills. The Sheriff pins a detective badge on him whether Jake likes it or not. He could have said no. But as Jake watches the locals nearly bungle the case in the first five minutes, he knows he's all in.

As Jake digs into the murder, he soon learns Judge Rand had enemies in every corner. And someone hiding in plain sight may be plotting to bring his investigation to a deadly end.

To bring a cold-blooded killer to justice, Jake's forced to confront every truth he's tried to escape. Even the ones that could bury him.

Murder in the Hollows is the first book in the gripping Detective Jake Cashen crime thriller series. A former police detective, author Declan James brings you authentic crime fiction that will keep you on the edge of your seat.