In The Cut

In an East London lock up, two film makers, Jimmy and Sam, are duct taped to chairs and forced to watch a snuff film by Ashkan, a loan shark to whom they owe a lot of money. If they don’t pay up, they’ll be starring in the next one. Before the film reaches its end, Ashkan and all his men are slaughtered by unknown assailants. Only Jimmy and Sam survive the massacre, leaving them with the sole copy of the snuff film. The film makers decide to build their next movie around the brutal film. While auditioning actors, they stumble upon Melissa, an enigmatic actress who seems perfect for the leading role, not least because she’s the spitting image of the snuff film’s main victim. Neither the film, nor Melissa, are entirely what they seem however. Jimmy and Sam find themselves pulled into a paranormal mystery that leads them through the shadowy streets of the city beneath the city and sees them re-enacting an ancient Mesopotamian myth cycle. As they play out the roles of long forgotten gods and goddesses, they’re drawn into the subtle web of a deadly heresy that stretches from the beginnings of civilization to the end of the world as we know it. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

In the sterile calm of the operating room, Dr. Marcus Valencia is celebrated for his precision, his steady hands healing wounds that others deemed impossible. But beneath the surgeon’s blade lies a heart scarred by a past he’s struggled to bury. When he falls in love, a new chapter begins—until a shocking truth slices through, unearthing a dark secret that binds them both to a night of unspeakable horror. Now, Marcus faces an agonizing choice: fulfilling his duty or answering the resounding call for justice, now lying in front of him. With justice resting in his hands, immerse yourself in a novel where the call of duty, the depths of true love, and the burning desire for revenge for family clash in a poignant struggle.

Crescent Cove: Where the Tide Brings Death Gabe Mitchell once wore a badge with pride—until the night everything was ripped from him: his career, his marriage, and nearly his sanity. Now working as a private investigator and nursing an old bottle of whiskey, Gabe finds himself dragged back into the shadows of law enforcement when a series of brutal murders rocks the quiet coastal town of Crescent Cove. The victims? Teenagers. The method? Slashed throats, hollow eyes. And the message? Always the same—“The Rip” scrawled in blood near the bodies. But when the latest victim turns out to be one of his son Nick’s closest friends, Gabe is forced to confront the nightmare head-on. Each death brings the killer closer to Nick—and the line between man and monster grows harder to see. The deeper Gabe digs, the stranger things get: whispered legends of an ancient sea demon, occult symbols etched into driftwood, and eyes watching from the waves. The truth may not just threaten his son’s life—but the soul of the town itself. Now Gabe must uncover the darkness hiding beneath Crescent Cove before the tide rolls in again… and takes Nick with it.

After my sister's appendectomy left her without both kidneys, I took a scalpel and held an entire hospital hostage. I locked twelve doctors and three patients in the morgue, announcing to the world they'd all been infected with HIV. With only three hours until the treatment window closed, the doctors, trembling and begging, swore that they knew nothing. I started a live stream, flashing a blood-stained scalpel. "You have three hours to find my sister's kidneys." I didn't care if they were already inside someone else.

After my mom got into a car accident and urgently needed surgery to save her life, I gave the surgery slot to my best friend’s son, Isaac Halstead. After all, in the middle of the night, there was only one doctor in the hospital capable of performing the surgery. At the same time, Isaac had swallowed a blade and gone into shock. But after the operation, Isaac died under mysterious circumstances, and Corinne Halstead blamed his death on me. She started a livestream and twisted the truth. She falsely accused me of bribing the doctor, stealing the surgery opportunity that originally belonged to her son, causing them to miss the critical treatment window, which led to Isaac’s death. In the next moment, the police rushed into the hospital and took me, along with the doctor and others, away for investigation. My mom, whose condition was critical, missed the surgery and died. The incident trended online, and I was subjected to massive cyberbullying. The doctor who performed the surgery turned out to be my dad, Dr. Alistair Brennan. In the end, he was deliberately run over and killed by an extremist netizen. In despair, I drank pesticide to prove my innocence. Not long after I died, Corinne moved into a luxury villa with Isaac and my husband, Grant Kessler. Only then did I realize that Isaac’s death had been fake all along. This had all been part of her scheme. She not only took Grant, embezzled the inheritance, but also rode the wave of attention to become an internet celebrity, earning tens of millions. When I opened my eyes again, I returned to the night my mom was rushed to the hospital after the accident.

I was performing the hundredth "restoration" surgery on my mafia husband's latest mistress when I finally decided to leave him. For five years, I, Isabella Rossi, have lived a double life: the respected wife of a powerful Don, and the personal physician tasked with "purifying" the women he discards. Vincent's twisted religious conviction is his law: only a wife untouched by any other man can bear his legitimate heir. I was that pure wife, yet he treated me as his most unclean possession. My love for him died a slow death. A thousand empty nights. It was killed by the cold steel of my own operating table. By the sounds of other women boasting about his touch. The five-year prenuptial agreement that bound me to this hell was set to expire at midnight. I had already called my grandfather, the only man Vincent truly fears. My escape was hours away. By the time he realized his mistake, it was too late.