The Trailcutter

"The Trailcutter takes off and never lets go. Some authors grab you with a voice. Others are savvy storytellers who almost turn the pages for you. Mike Robinson does both."

— Richard Dooling, National Book Award Finalist and author of White Man's Grave

As a child, Leonard "Lee" Skay weathered the psychological fallout of his mother's escape from a cult. Now entering middle age, he is a builder of hiking trails around Los Angeles County, though he hasn't been hired in a while. His marriage to Dawn, a professional screenwriter, is one of increasing friction. So when a wealthy colleague of Dawn's asks him about building a private trail in the canyon behind his Malibu home, Lee jumps at the opportunity—even with the mysterious, unsolved shootings in the region. 

While out working, he encounters Daniel Williams Janus, a vibrant yet strange man who seems to have carved his own minimalist haven in the depths of the canyon. As Janus quietly helps Lee build the trail, the two form a unique bond, one unprecedented in Lee's checkered social history. 

Then, as the shootings continue, and some odd coincidences pop up between Janus and others in his life, Lee finds himself slipping further into the shadows of a potentially deadly situation.