In The Pines

“An impressive debut into the murky world of noir, where bad things happen and luck runs out…”
- Edward Squires, Not Quite Novellas

Accident? Suicide? …Or Murder?

In a small southern Illinois town, Emily Ahrens, a plain, rather unexceptional seventeen-year-old high school student, dies suddenly from what appears to be natural causes. Tests soon confirm the young woman died of arsenic poisoning, and a coroner's inquest, called to examine the circumstances of the death, concludes that the manner of death is “undetermined.”

With no evidence of foul play, local authorities are reluctant to investigate. Emily’s father, Walt Ahrens, a local car dealer, refuses to let the matter drop and begins obsessively seeking answers, much to the dismay of his family and the small, close-knit community seeking to put the tragedy behind them. When Walt turns up the screws on one likely suspect, a tragic accident ensues, and, as in the best noir tradition, circumstances begin to spiral out of control.

Chris Orlet was born and raised in Belleville, Illinois. He has worked a multitude of dead-end jobs, including bartender, sportswriter, gun seller, Peace Corps volunteer, tech writer, salesman for a trailer parts company, and other occupations too unsavory to mention. He lives in Saint Louis, Missouri with his wife, son, and dachshund. This is his first novel.