Wendy Wagner

The Deer Kings Wendy Wagner

"Deer saints, darkness and the strangeness of family ties; Wagner effortlessly mixes football and folk horror in this terrifying new novel." -Angela Slatter, award-winning author of The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings




In 1989, Gary Sheldon and his friends created their own saint.




In 2018, they discover it's become a god.




Gary thought he'd escaped Kingston, Oregon, the town where his parents died and where, one tragic summer, he and a group of outcast teens turned to the supernatural to protect themselves from a deranged drug dealer. But when his wife lands her dream job as a high school principal, he is forced to return to his hometown.




As Gary reconnects with old friends and his son thrives on the football team, the past feels like a distant memory. But unsettling encounters and mutilated animals in the woods reveal that the Deer Saint is still at work. Now Gary must look into his past to find answers: Who is making sacrifices to the Deer Saint? And what do they want with his family?