In the hills of north Georgia, Lee Chambers goes through the motions of life, haunted by the tragic, mysterious death of his mother, and measures time by empty bottles. He discovers that all that glitters is not necessarily gold when he wins the lottery, and his life takes an unexpected turn, with often brutal consequences for those around him.

His old existence is extinguished in an instant with the purchase of a two-dollar ticket from a convenience store, and he is whisked away to a life of wealth, a mansion, butlers, and horses. With everything he could possibly desire at the stroke of a pen, he finds himself straying further from the truth as he risks his family and his sanity, pushing his own boundaries to their limits in an attempt to fill the ever-growing void.

From the author of The Great Piggly Wiggly Heist, Absalom's Place explores themes of love, loneliness, and sometimes horror, as it seeks to answer the question: does money truly buy happiness?

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Excerpt from Absalom's Place © Copyright 2024 Drew A Perry

Richard seemed to blush but inspected the shotgun to make sure it was unloaded, then shouldered it. “Yessir, my father took me out hunting since I was a young lad. I’ve taken down many a duck and pheasant with one of these,” he tapped the butt of the gun lovingly. “Thank you for allowing me to join you today, sir.”

Lee waved him away, dismissively. “Please. That house is-” he trailed off. “Too much. I don’t care if it is raining, the winter was too much. I have to get out.” He tilted his face to the sky, allowing the rain to pelt him and run down his face like a redemptive shower, washing away the memories of the past season,

“Yes, winter has always been a cruel season,” Richard muttered looking off towards the house. A breeze picked up, pushing around the still, hollow, skeletons of the trees and brushed them against each other causing an ungodly creak that chilled each of them to their bones, but each for different reasons. “I may be overstepping my bounds, sir,”

“Please, overstep,” Lee laughed, wiping the rain from his face as he squatted on the ground next to Richard.

“Yes, thank you, sir. It just seems recently that there is a…how do I put it. A tension in the house between you and the misses,” he blushed again as he rubbed the stock of the shotgun. Lee looked him up and down, trying to determine an angle, but seeing none he stood up and collected his gear and began walking back towards the house.

As he trudged through the short grass and forming mud he paused as he passed the horses and leaned against the fence. He let out a breath he had been holding since he had been awoken and looked out over the pasture as a crowd of birds squaked and circled something further down in the valley. He cocked his head then turned his attention to the barn. The horses inside whinnied excitedly inside. There was a noise of trodden soil behind him as Richard joined his side.

“Everything alright, sir?” he asked, but suddenly his head snapped at the sound of the horses.

“Something’s happened,” Lee muttered as his stomach churned.

“Shall I grab the misses?” Richard asked hesitantly, but Lee’s sharp look cut him down where he stood. They both climbed the wood fence, tossing the shotguns to the other side before jumping into the tall grass themselves. Lee retrieved his and jogged to the back of the barn. The door was left wide open. He fell down on his knees as Richard ran past him, checking the stalls and shushing the horses that bucked and brayed, their eyes wild. The one closest to the doors hooves were bloodied from kicking the stall door, no doubt all night. Lee stood up, his tears mixed with the rain that streamed down.

“Is she in there?” he called in to Richard who looked just as disheveled and shook his head, attempting to open his mouth but no words came out. Another squawk came from down the hill. Lee turned and Richard ran after him.

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