Right Between the Eyes

When a young girl is abducted in a historic New England town in 1981, a family seeks full and total revenge, unwittingly setting in motion several decades worth of wicked lies and betrayal.

Flash-forward thirty years, and the reader follows the Chief of Police, Box Sullivan, and his niece, Michelle, a ranger at iconic Walden Pond, two people who, on the surface, appear to be admirable, upstanding citizens. However, as the novel progresses, it becomes evident that both have plenty of hidden secrets and dark pasts which often intertwine with that kidnapping from decades earlier. They each share histories rife with trauma and deceit, as well as similar personalities bent on revenge. When a mysterious skull is discovered by two boys fishing in Walden Pond, and then Michelle’s husband later disappears, the suspicion and finger-pointing escalate, and along with it, the tension and suspense.

Told in alternating points of view, this literary mystery dives into the psychology of murderous betrayal, familial loyalty, and the extraordinary lengths people will resort to in the pursuit of self-preservation. Twists, turns, and ruthless back-stabbing fill these chapters, keeping the reader guessing and on edge until its unexpected and dark conclusion.

Praise for RIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES:

“Right Between the Eyes is a riveting, twist-filled exploration of violence, memory, and family. With its richly complex characters and vivid sense of place, this is a novel that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.” —Lou Berney, Edgar Award-winning author of November Road

“A propulsive tale of blackmail and murder rendered in spare, hard-hitting prose. Sanders does a masterly job revealing how a family’s closely-held secrets can echo across generations like a gunshot across a midnight lake.” —Dennis Tafoya, author of Dope Thief

“With a New England setting and the ghosts of Thoreau, Emerson, and Alcott coloring the background, Scott Loring Sanders weaves a tale of family secrets. Good people do bad things, and by the end, you are rooting for them to get away with it. Equal parts Stephen King’s Castle Rock and SA Cosby’s modern noir.” —Jim Winter, author of the Holland Bay thrillers

“With terrific pacing, intriguing characters, and skillful buildup of suspense, Sanders thrusts the reader into the dark and grisly past of two sisters in New England and their police officer uncle; a past filled with ominous secrets that threaten to destroy the conspiratorial bonds that unite them. Set in Concord, Massachusetts, where Henry David Thoreau penned his famous philosophical musings, Sanders has crafted a thriller every lover of crime fiction will enjoy to the hilt. A must-read.” —Michael Bruce Blackwell, author of Wildlife on the Serengeti

“With great risk, clean prose and precise execution, Scott Loring Sanders has created not only a feast for crime fiction aficionados, but also a revelation for all book lovers—proving himself undeniable with this dark, brooding and bloody family drama. Highly recommended.” —Nolan Knight, author of The Neon Lights Are Veins and Beneath the Black Palms

“This dark and troubling tale of two generations of the Sullivan family operating on multiple sides of the law raises many unsettling questions about the nature—and price—of loyalty at all costs, and is one of the most gripping novels I have read in years.” —Nathan Singer, author of Transorbital and Blackchurch Furnace