Ripley Winter’s demons have haunted her for years, begging her to embrace the darkness that’s always dwelled within her. After spending far too long beneath her abusive boyfriend’s thumb, she’s finally indulged in the unthinkable.

Now she’s hoping to start over with a new identity, but when a brutal storm pushes her all the way to Blackthorne Ranch she finds herself face to face with a man, one who can start her on the road to a new life.

That is, if he doesn’t kill her first.

Cruel, cold, and calculating, Preacher Blackthorne’s mission has always been to rid the world of evil. His clientele are willing to pay a hefty price for a taste of the sinners he ensnares, but even monsters get lonely.

When Ripley’s battered body lands on his doorstep, he soon becomes obsessed with the idea of molding her into the perfect hunter.

But will he be able to teach her everything she needs before the ghosts of the past return to haunt them both?

Content Warnings:

THE PLOT OF THIS BOOK REVOLVES AROUND CANNIBALISM AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING.

This book contains the following content/triggers: Gore and on-page murder scenes, torture, sex trafficking (committed by the main antagonist), dismemberment, toxic relationship dynamics, slapping, cannibalism, torture, corrupt police officers, domestic violence (brief flashbacks in a dream sequence as well as briefly described on page), uneven power dynamics between the FMC and MMC, sexual assault (past experiences) and attempted sexual assault (depicted on page in chapter 27), discussions of childhood sexual abuse, skinning, blood play, dissection, mentions of suicide of a parent, knife play, branding, blood drinking, accidental self-drugging, drugging drinks, primal play, stabbing, beheading, menstrual blood play/consumption, tooth removal, dubcon, CNC, primal play, choking (with hands and with a belt), branding with a straight razor, vomit, consensual somnophilia, gun violence, eyeball gouging, crucifixion, religious desecration, graphic descriptions of wounds and blood, orgasm denial, anal penetration with a gun, vaginal penetration with a gun, rough anal sex, and evisceration.

There are also contains graphic references to childhood sexual abuse and both characters experience severe PTSD as a result of their past. Discussions about trauma are woven into both characters’ ruminations on why they became serial killers. While my area of expertise in criminology was not in serial offending, there are multiple academic sources that support the idea that trauma can play a contributing factor. This book is not a textbook on serial killers, and some things have been glossed over or fudged for the sake of fiction.