The Taking of Shale City - David Winters J

Shale City has seen better days. First, the dam burst, flooding out the town's iron mine. Then, local officials shut down the shipping and courier services, the only thing keeping Shale City hanging on... It was all the mayor of Shale could do to fight off the more 'legitimate' of sleazeballs trying to destroy her city, but now it seems as though some other kind of sleazeball force is encroaching upon her town, set on putting the final nail in its coffin... 

The Taking of Shale City is a ragtag band of underdogs tale meets giallo chiller. Think, a story of amateur sleuths solving mysteries involving the gruesome and the macabre... with a hint of the supernatural even... trying to save what matters most to them in a world of powers all conspiring against them.

If you're looking for the perfect combination of high-brow genre fiction elements, low-brow upmarket literary pomposity, and sleazeballs, The Taking of Shale City is for you!