A Season of Sons

A Season of Sons is a paranormal thriller of deception, illusion... and murder.

The year is 2012. While investigating the heinous death of a prominent evangelist, FBI agent, Leon Safullo is unable to identify the killer through traditional methods of forensic analysis. Simultaneously, Leon learns of the sudden disappearance of Paul Evans, CEO of a major corporation.

Leon is a pragmatic realist whose career is based on interpreting symptoms of aberrant human behavior. The killer contacts Leon with the purpose of challenging the validity of his investigation. Leon perceives the threatening direct communication as a masquerade using digital technology, but fears for the safety of his family.

With the help of an illusionary alter ego named Pearl, Antonio Guzman claims to be a macabre combination of man and spirit, who has infiltrated society as a normal human being. He uses advanced technology combined with microbiology, drugs, and hypnosis to invade his victims’ minds and manipulate their unconscious desires. Guzman is in search of “candidates” to possess and convert those who embody “the perfect light.”

Paul Evans is a preferred target for Guzman/Pearl. Once a considerate and responsible husband and father, he has fashioned his life according to how he believes others perceive him, which exposes him to the influence of corporate greed, destroys the life of his business partner, and damages his own family.

Guzman invades and breaks down Paul’s resistance to acknowledging that dark powers have created his success, and now they want Paul’s only son, Matt, in a Faustian exchange. Matt and his sister, Jenny, possess the resistant strain of “Perfect Light.” Struggling to reclaim shreds of his identity incrementally taken and possessed by Guzman, Paul and his son flee into a mountain wilderness.

In the midst of a violent winter storm in the remote Rocky Mountains, father and son fight for survival against the forces of darkness whose sole objective is to possess them and extinguish the light wherever and in whomever it may exist.

The unfolding evidence and trail of mayhem and murder force Leon to confront his disbelief in paranormal activity as something more than the imagination and projections of a psychopathic killer.

"A Season of Sons is a vivid story difficult to easily define. At once a murder mystery, a thriller, and a horror story, it incorporates paranormal and psychological elements to add tension on different levels, creating a compelling story of high-tech manipulation and a deadly being which provokes a powerful confrontation between good and evil....

...Unlike most horror stories, Rob Tucker takes the time to inject psychological details about his characters to enhance the story's overall emotional draw. This creates a depth that is revealing and engrossing: "It bothered Leon that he was beginning to question whether there was ultimately any purpose in what he was doing, any value. Growing older, he thought. Maybe all this matters only when you’re young and you’re not looking to see what’s on the other side. Life is short. Life ends." ...

...Horror and psychological suspense readers seeking a story that stands out for its depth and multifaceted approach will relish the questions, conundrums, and confrontations of A Season of Sons...." - Diane Donovan, Editor, California Bookwatch