The Hunting Grounds

Sometimes you’re the predator. Sometimes you’re the prey.
Hailed as the hero of Elmaeder County Sheriff’s Department for capturing the infamous da Vinci serial killer, Detective Justice Hall harbors a dark secret: he’s a killer himself. And since he’s started taking lives again—even in the name of justice—he can’t escape the recurring nightmares of his traumatic past.
Or the ghosts that haunt him.
But the victims he was forced to kill under Justin Black’s tutelage aren’t the only things plaguing Justice. A desperate, strung-out former employee of Eastwind Farm pleads with Justice to find his missing girlfriend, one of numerous girls who’ve disappeared from the hemp farm. Then there’s the troubling case of a privileged banker’s son’s apparent robbery in Elmaeder, complete with an empty safe, a blood-smeared room, but no victim.
Are the cases related?
When arson claims the life of the heartbroken junkie the day after Justice talks to the farm owner, all bets are off. Justice is certain the Syndicate, the notorious motorcycle gang circulating a deadly new drug, is involved. It might take a killer to catch a killer, but as Justice sets a trap, he must confront a chilling question: Is he the predator or the prey?
The Hunting Grounds is book two of Mary Stone’s A Villain’s Story series, a twisted thriller that will jolt you awake, unveiling a world where fear isn’t just the greatest high—it’s a chilling obsession.