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In 1975, Detective Thomas Mercer hunts a child killer in a decaying city. But when obsession drives him to break procedure, he doesn't catch the monster, he empowers him. A catastrophic error leads to a child's death and Mercer's imprisonment. Spanning 25 years, this is not a story of redemption, but of the slow, gray work of survival after the darkness wins.
Detective Thomas Mercer becomes obsessed with catching a meticulous serial killer who murders children without remorse. His desperation breaks procedure, alerts the killer, and destroys evidence—resulting in the death of the child he vowed to protect. Now imprisoned and hollow, Mercer must learn to survive in a world where justice was served but evil ultimately won.
A bleak meditation on obsession, institutional failure, and the gray persistence required to rebuild after catastrophe. Not redemption. Just survival.
THE VERMILION LEDGER subverts the obsessive detective narrative. This isn't a story about brilliant investigation or justified desperation—it's about how obsession corrupts faster than it solves. The 1970s setting captures institutional failure and moral ambiguity. Limited forensics force reliance on human judgment, making Mercer's mistakes both understandable and catastrophic.
This novel is for readers who can sit with discomfort, who understand that quiet persistence is sometimes the only victory available.
Content Warning: Child murder, psychological trauma, institutional failure, suicidal ideation.
THE VERMILION LEDGER subverts the obsessive detective narrative. This isn't a story about brilliant investigation or justified desperation—it's about how obsession corrupts faster than it solves. The 1970s setting captures institutional failure and moral ambiguity. L...
