Description
Avalon Moon
by Michael Amos Cody
ISBN: 978-1-963695-67-0 paperback $24.95
ISBN: 978-1-963695-68-7 ebook $9.99
May 19, 2026
FROM THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF STREETS OF NASHVILLE
In Avalon Moon, a local man has gone missing and then is soon found dead in a highland meadow, side-by-side with an unknown woman. When another man and woman go missing and a female deputy is found murdered, Gabriel Tanner, editor of Runion’s weekly newspaper, and Plumer Reeves, a reclusive local hawkshaw working for the niece of the first dead man, suspect a monster is hunting in their western North Carolina mountains. Two extraordinary young women, the Avalon community’s Ariel Anderson and Lonesome Mountain’s Livvy Goforth, join Tanner and Reeves to lead the attempt to discover and stop the killer.
Praise for Avalon Moon by Michael Amos Cody
“With wolves across the river and murder in the high meadow, Avalon Moon knows exactly how to raise the hair on your neck. Move it to the top of your book queue.”—BestThrillers.com
“A deliciously gothic tale stitched into a brutal murder mystery. As a serial killer stalks the mountains of North Carolina, Cody’s precise language shifts effortlessly like light through the trees – from lush gothic poetry to gritty Appalachian realism. Facing ancient gods and hungry beasts in the deep woods, the reader can’t help but dread a darker truth: evil is only ever a breath away.—Andrew K. Clark, author of Where Dark Things Grow
“A crime novel featuring a new entry to the list of Most Bone-Chilling Fictional Serial Killers ever committed to paper. Or to e-book. Whatever. The influence of Poe and Hawthorne, at their bone-chilling creepiest, can be felt egging on the unfolding of the story, one eerie development after another. A taut, skillfully crafted thriller.”—Whiskey Leavins, author of Low Angle Shot
“Avalon Moon relies on vivid, inviting storytelling and precise language to lure you in, and once you’re caught in Cody’s prodigious literary talents, it’s hard to escape. . . . A book you’ll think about long after you’ve finished the story on the page.”—Bobby Mathews, author of Magic City Blues
“The Appalachian town of Runion is threatened by a serial killer, wolves, and ghosts—literal and figurative—in Michael Amos Cody’s propulsive new novel, Avalon Moon. The tension and constant sense of danger kept me turning the pages, but the heart of the book is the large cast of believable characters. All are rendered with insight, compassion, and humor, and they continued to linger in my thoughts long after the novel’s satisfying conclusion.”—Peter McDade, author of King Cal
“A richly atmospheric crime novel set in the mountains of western North Carolina. Calling to mind the early Appalachian work of Cormac McCarthy cut with the chill of Stephen King. . . . A beautifully written thriller that immerses readers in a world where the landscape is as compelling and enigmatic as the killer they seek.”
—Mark Powell, author of Lioness
“A story that has the dark and haunted feel of an old-time Appalachian ballad. Literary echoes of writers such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Charles Brockden Brown add to the novel’s richness and make Avalon Moon an exceptional addition to the genre of Southern Gothic fiction.”—Ron Rash, author of The Caretaker
“A delicious slice of Appalachian Gothic, filled with mystery and intrigue, and layered with a compelling cast of characters, malevolent to endearing. Rich with mountain folklore and a centering nod to Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, Cody’s novel is a page-turning who-done-it you’ll find yourself flying through. But do slow down. Breathe! There are so many tasty layers, and you’re gonna want to savor every bite.”—Cathy Rigg, author of That Which Binds Us
“Michael Amos Cody delivers a thrilling and tense Appalachian noir in his latest novel Avalon Moon. By turns suspenseful and evocative, this story of a killer on the loose will keep you up at night. Deftly written, with a sharp ear for dialogue and a faultless sense of place, Cody affirms his position as one of the most exciting writers of crime fiction in Appalachia today.”—Charles Dodd White, author of How Fire Runs
Praise for Cody’s previous novel, Streets of Nashville
… Cody is a talented new voice in Southern fiction whose stories will appear on bookshelves for many years to come.—C.W. Blackwell, author of Hard Mountain Clay
An elegantly written, mysterious and electric crime novel. Michael Amos Cody’s experience as a Nashville songwriter and Ezra MacRae’s encyclopedic knowledge of country music bring Streets of Nashville to life.—Alex Kenna, author of What Meets the Eye and Burn This Night
…a haunting tribute to the resilience needed to survive—and thrive—in the heart of Music City, solidifying him as one of the region’s most compelling voices.—Christy Alexander Hallberg, author of Searching for Jimmy Page
Michael Amos Cody was born in the South Carolina Lowcountry and raised in the North Carolina highlands. He spent his twenties writing songs in Nashville and his thirties in school. He’s the author of the novel Gabriel’s Songbook (Pisgah Press 2017) and the short story collection A Twilight Reel (Pisgah Press 2021), winner of the Short Story / Anthology category of the Feathered Quill Book Awards 2022. Cody’s novel Streets of Nashville (Madville Publishing 2025) was named a Finalist for the Best Thriller Book Awards 2025 by bestthrillers.com and won the Independent Press Award 2026 in the category of Thriller. Cody lives with his wife Leesa in Jonesborough, Tennessee, and teaches in the Department of Literature and Language at East Tennessee State University.
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