“Once you’re in the novel’s grip, it’s difficult to break free. A predator thriller with a difference, by a rising star in the field.”

—Kirkus Reviews

This “impossible to forget” psychological thriller set in small town Iowa in the 1960s pits a detective struggling with his own demons against a mysterious outcast who may or may not be a serial killer. (The Wall Street Journal)

“Stag demonstrates to all and sundry that [Bahr’s] talent as an author of rural noir, location notwithstanding, is very real. Without a doubt, his story and characters earn top billing in this novel . . . Stag is an excellent crime novel by an emerging author who shows an unerring feel for rural noir and a shining promise of more to come in the future.” —Michael J. McCann, New York Journal of Books

“Bahr’s series is tailor-made for fans of dark, Northwest country noir thrillers containing a moderate amount of graphic imagery within a conventional plot.” —Booklist

“Dane Bahr writes with the story savvy of James Lee Burke, strange but elegant characters not unlike those of Flannery O’Connor, and the prose potency of Cormac McCarthy. Under the fire of his pen, the northwest Washington represented in his brilliant novel Stag burns with mystery and shadow and crackles with indelible life. I’m a huge fan.” —Alan Heathcock, author of Volt and 40