Lacrimosa

In 1984, 6-year-old Alexander Sedona walks into an old-fashioned schoolhouse in the quaint rural town of Oaksbury, Pennsylvania, situated in the heart of the Old Amish Country. In one of the country's safest places, the small boy never leaves the old schoolhouse. An inexplicable phenomenon, his disappearance rocks the community to the core.

Believing the boy's disappearance to be the result of witchcraft, devil worship, or even worse, the town of Oaksbury quickly deteriorates. Three decades pass, and as the memory of Alexander Sedona's disappearance fades, so does what is left of the once-beautiful town.

Those who remain live simple, quiet lives. Little disturbs the peace until Rosalie Andrews, the former apprentice in charge of the children that haunted night, comes across a body. The corpse is that of a stunning young woman, lying beneath the azaleas that still bloom in the yard of the abandoned school house. A black cat anxiously circles her body, a mysterious note tucked in his collar.

The young woman's body is pristine, except for one perplexing fact. The crime lab discovers she is covered in the blood of Alexander Sedona, the schoolboy who disappeared before she was even born.

Determined to put a lifetime of guilt behind her and lay the ghosts of her childhood to rest, Rosalie makes it her mission to find justice for Alexander Sedona--and the angelic young woman who tells his secrets from beyond the grave.

Cover credit to @TheTigerWriter and her Magic Fox. They've done a number of my covers, and have an intuitive gift of understanding my personal aesthetic. Thank you!