Beloved

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM FAULKNER AWARD

The dark Swedish noir of Erik Axl Sund's The Crow Girl shadows America's Allegheny Mountain Range in this atmospheric page-turner of a thriller. A blistering police procedural and the FBI profiler hunt for two serial killers interweave in a complex novel compared to Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Supported by Vermont Studio Center

Supported by Wildacres Arts & Humanities Center

When FBI agent Priya Conlin-Kumar tracks two different serial killers hunting in the same city, she begins to see visions about a demon king. But the real demons are a serial rapist who kills and a superpredator who fetishizes his victims. When the superpredator fixates on Priya, he believes that killing her will bring him the ultimate satisfaction.

To find justice for dozens of women, Priya must access the dark, sensual power of the goddess Kali. Her nights with her lover grow ever more intense until her Shakti - her female power - shakes the mountains. Only then can she face the demonic superpredator on his own terms.