Blurb:

Sometimes, the most evil things come from the most holy…

Conflicted with his faith in God and the hypocrisy of the church, Aidan Schaeffer, a young assistant pastor, is in a constant state of spiritual turmoil. When Aidan learns that his ex-fiancée is the first victim in a string of ritualistic killings, he finds himself in the middle of an even deeper fight. Tormented by demonic threats and haunted by spirits, Aidan throws himself into investigating Amanda’s death; all the while supernatural forces have begun to attack the people around him. The more questions he asks, the more he is drawn into the world of a mysterious Anglican priest, a paranormal investigation group and a rogue female detective investigating the murders. As the gruesome rituals escalate, ancient hidden secrets and an evil long buried threaten to rip Aidan’s world apart.

My Thoughts:
3 Gates of the Dead is on my best reads of 2013 list. The plot is very well constructed, the characters are distinct, and the writing is amazing.

The book centers around Aiden Schaeffer, an assistant pastor whose ex-fiancee has been murdered in a ritualistic way. While this is one of the scariest books I've read in a while, I think of it more as a fantastic dark paranormal than straight horror. But no matter what the genre, know that if you read it at night you'll be sleeping with the lights on!

Hey, and don't forget to sign up for a signed copy of the book! Rafflecopter's below. :-)

If you're a filmmaker, you'd be freaking insane not to check this out!

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About Jonathan Ryan:

Jonathan Ryan is an author, columnist, blogger, and theologian. His debut horror mystery novel, 3 Gates of the Dead (October 2013), has earned multiple rave reviews including Midwest Book Review, the Director of Development of The Wolper Organization at Warner Bros. (Bates Motel, Mists of Avalon), and a TIME Magazine reviewer. He grew up poor in Indiana and spent two weeks every summer with his grandmother, who allowed him to check out library books on Bigfoot, the Mothman, and ghost stories. He explored all the dark and spooky places of the Midwest, including the mysterious mounds that dot the landscape there, developing a love for the weird, scary and strange. Jonathan’s adventurous spirit has led him to live in many states and travel the world. He has given much of himself in an effort to help others, many times at his own risk. He was mistaken for a member of the IRA while encouraging dialogue in Belfast between Protestants and Catholics before the Truce. He has worked among the Navajo and Tohono O’odham nations as well as brought together a group of atheists and Christians to contribute to relief efforts in Biloxi and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Jonathan has spoken to thousands of people on writing and religion. His writing credits include The Huffington Post, Christianity Today, The High Calling, TAPS ParaMagazine, Intrepid Magazine, the renowned interfaith blog site, Patheos.com and popular horror site, DreadCentral.com. He just completed co-authoring a work of non-fiction with Father Jim Sichko entitled Among Friends: Stories from the Journey (April 2014). Most recently, he has entered the world of producing, being named Associate Producer on two feature films by Mark Campbell Productions: Cottonwood, a murder mystery set in the Dust Bowl era of 1930′s Texas starring Louis Gossett Jr., Anthony Michael Hall, Alison Eastwood, Ethan Suplee, Joe Perry (Aerosmith), and the supernatural horror, Annabelle (inspired by the Warren case files – e.g. Warner Bros’ The Conjuring).

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