Midnight Falls by John Evans

After a series of disappointments and mishaps at college, Josh Blevins returns to his small hometown, loyal dog in tow, and begrudgingly settles in. Though he feels like a failure and his life is at a crossroads, he’s made new friends and even found a girl.

But the pleasant facade of Midnight Falls he remembered from childhood hides a sinister evil. One that goes beyond the hate festering within the borders and etched in the streets to something much deeper and chilling. Anyone and everyone could be a monster lurking behind the mask of hospitality. Knowing who to trust is impossible, especially when he’s constantly butting heads with the sheriff, who has a grudge against him, an axe to grind, and no intentions of burying it unless it’s maybe in Josh’s back.

Somehow, he’s become an outsider in a place he once called home, and is suddenly forced to choose between facing his problems or to keep running for the rest of his life. And what lingers in the dark may not let him survive long enough to decide.

Tropes: mysterious neighbor, being watched, everywhere monsters, clumsy escape, left with bruises, the final man, humans are monsters, secrets