First Evidence

From the New York Times bestselling author of Balefire comes a chilling tale of murder, forensic detection, and vivid speculation, pitting a unique crime scene investigator against a culprit who may be unlike any this world ever spawned....

As an experienced crime scene investigator, Colin Cellars has had to contend with missing evidence before. But never has he encountered such a chaotic crime scene as the one at a remote cabin nestled in the deep woods of the Pacific Northwest--site of a reported shoot-out. Cellars cannot find a trace of perpetrator or victim. He can't even confirm there has been a murder, much less that the cabin's owner--and the presumed victim--could be his long-estranged former best friend. But something violent and inexplicable has happened, and each time he approaches the scene seeking clearer evidence, eerie occurrences confound the case further.

Cellars is determined to unravel the contradictions, enlisting his closest friends to aid him. As attempts to block his investigation become increasingly vicious, Cellars realizes his life--and those of his friends--are at risk. There's far more at stake here, he's certain, than murder. Someone--something?--will stop at nothing to prevent him from discovering the truth. For the truth is not "out there"--it is locked away in Cellars's own evidence file. But it will do him no good unless he has the vision to see what it really means...before it's too late.

Ken Goddard infuses his high-voltage narrative with the depth and authentic detail that only a crime scene expert can. In this riveting thriller, he takes the reader step-by-step through a forensic investigation--and straight into the terrifying heart of the unknown.

Ken Goddard is the author of six previous novels, including the New York Times bestseller Balefire. He has served as a criminalist in three California police and sheriff's departments, and has served as an instructor in crime scene investigation and forensic techniques at police, sheriff, and federal law enforcement academies throughout the United States. He lives in Ashland, Oregon, where he is currently director of the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory, the only full-service wildlife crime laboratory in the world.