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Cast a Cold Eye
1921. Rural Nebraska. In a region devastated by Spanish flu, where not a single life has gone unscathed by tragedy, 15-year-old Luke Bryant has lost more than most. Orphaned, Luke toils as a farmhand for his strict uncle and aunt, barely recalling a world not gray, deadening, and oppressive. Worse, he can’t so much as visit the twin graves of his parents without the statues in the cemetery opening their stony eyes and watching his every move.
Enter Annabelle Tupper, itinerant spirit photographer. Half-blinded by the chemicals of her trade, she travels the countryside in pursuit of the ghost of her dead husband. When a local pastor arranges for Annabelle to take on the boy as an apprentice, both find their every belief turned upside-down. For Annabelle, eking out a bare living while trying not to be run out of town as a charlatan, Luke represents a power she can only dream of. But for Luke � reluctant, resentful, and increasingly violent � the older woman stands for every nightmare that haunts his waking hours.
As more and more restless spirits converge on the unblinking eye of Annabelle’s camera, Luke’s only hope for peace will be to confront the most terrifying specters of all � the ones he carries inside.
Enter Annabelle Tupper, itinerant spirit photographer. Half-blinded by the chemicals of her trade, she travels the countryside in pursuit of the ghost of her dead husband. When a local pastor arranges for Annabelle to take on the boy as an apprentice, both find their every belief turned upside-down. For Annabelle, eking out a bare living while trying not to be run out of town as a charlatan, Luke represents a power she can only dream of. But for Luke � reluctant, resentful, and increasingly violent � the older woman stands for every nightmare that haunts his waking hours.
As more and more restless spirits converge on the unblinking eye of Annabelle’s camera, Luke’s only hope for peace will be to confront the most terrifying specters of all � the ones he carries inside.
82 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
4 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Derryl Murphy
23Ìýbooks17ÌýfollowersDerryl Murphy lives with his wife, boys and dog in Saskatoon, where he is deeply involved in a life of soccer and writing. His short fiction has appeared in magazines and anthologies since his first sale in the early '90s. His first book, the collection of eco-SF Wasps at the Speed of Sound, was released by Prime Books in 2005, and in 2009 Cast a Cold Eye, a novella co-written with William Shunn, was released by PS Publishing.
Napier's Bones has just been nominated for Best Novel for the Aurora Award. For more information and for information on how to vote for Napier's Bones, please see
Derryl has been nominated for the Canada's Aurora Award for an SF review column he wrote for The Edmonton Journal, for his short story "Body Solar," and for "Mayfly," a short story he co-wrote with Peter Watts.
Once upon a time Derryl was a photojournalist, but staking out murder sites to get a lousy picture was not the career he envisioned.
Napier's Bones has just been nominated for Best Novel for the Aurora Award. For more information and for information on how to vote for Napier's Bones, please see
Derryl has been nominated for the Canada's Aurora Award for an SF review column he wrote for The Edmonton Journal, for his short story "Body Solar," and for "Mayfly," a short story he co-wrote with Peter Watts.
Once upon a time Derryl was a photojournalist, but staking out murder sites to get a lousy picture was not the career he envisioned.
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