DEVIL IN THE DUNES BOOK CLUBS!

Wendy Byard was a college English professor and high school English and history teacher for over 25 years. She taught her students research, essay, and creative writing as well as critical thinking skills. She  empowered them to win writing awards at Mott College, in the state of Michigan, and elsewhere.   

She recently published Devil in the Dunes, an engrossing kidnap suspense novel set on the charming - and often deadly - coast of Lake Michigan.  It is available via Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IngramSpark, and other US and worldwide distributors.

She currently writes the column "Beyond Our Backyards for The County Press in Michigan.

Byard is the published author of Teach and Reach for Classroom Miracles.  She was magazine writer for On the Town magazine; a Special Writer for The Flint Journal; a journalist for Capitol News Service; a published essay writer; and a previous advertising and marketing account executive for Group 243 in Ann Arbor and Grey Advertising in Chicago. 

She is the owner of the graphic and website design firm Wordgirl Marketing.  

Byard earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and history and a master’s degree in English Education from Michigan State University.  She was a writer for The State News at MSU.

She resides in Metamora, Michigan. 

 SIX YEARS AGO, CADIE MCLEOD'S PARENTS WERE BRUTUALLY MURDERED.

 NOW SHE'S MISSING.

After Cadie McLeod is snatched from the Lake Michigan dunes on the day her parents were killed six years ago, the 18-year-old must escape her abductor if she's going to live and solve the mystery of their grisly deaths - murders for reasons no one could imagine.

Ten years ago, little Emily Hadly disappeared from the dark dunes while her parents napped nearby. Emily was never seen again. Now another young woman – the popular, wildly beautiful, and exceptional 18-year-old Cadie McLeod is missing from those same dunes. At first glance, Devil in the Dunes might appear to be a simple whodunnit; however, the tale’s reality is much more complex, unexpected, and horrifying. 

On a Lake Michigan beach, under a midnight moon, a man stalks a young woman enjoying an end-of-year bonfire with classmates. Minutes later, as Cadie leaves the party and walks tipsily down Scenic Trail toward her bike and Aunt Marie’s cozy cottage, a man emerges from the shadows, chokes her unconscious, and pumps her arm full of Ketamine. As a storm blows in across the Great Lake, the man drives Cadie to a remote location where he imprisons the unconscious woman in an old root cellar built into a hillside. His years-in-the-making revenge plan has begun.

The night selected for Cadie’s abduction is not random. Six years ago, on the very night that Cadie disappears, her parents Thomas and Aileen were run down in grisly fashion (the local news said "obliterated") as they walked hand in hand across coastal highway M-22 for ice cream. Their killer was never captured. 

The mysterious, psychological kidnap thriller Devil in the Dunes is an addictive, plot-driven novel with characters to care about. Readers will be fully immersed in this dark tale, quickly turning page after page to discover who murdered Thomas and Aileen and why and what happens to their only daughter - a strong-willed woman who fights for her freedom. The finale is utterly unpredictable and takes place in a cruiser off North Manitou Island in the midst of a ferocious Lake Michigan storm. The novel has been called “epic” and “gripping.” Several reviewers said they, “could not put it down.” 

Wendy Byard grew up loving Nancy Drew books - even sneaking out of her middle school classes to hide out in the library and read every book in the series. The teen sleuth was clever and courageous, bold and beautiful - Wendy's first example of a literary feminist.  Of course, she went on to read many more mysteries throughout her life from Stephen King to John Grisham to current mystery authors like Lisa Jewell. (She and her husband also love Dateline and Forensic Files!)

Wendy loves a good whodunnit. She appreciates the suspense genre as it provides excitement but also engages the reader as they analyze clues, evidence, characters, plot, and motivation. Mystery novels are more than just good distraction: they compel critical thinking and also analysis of themes like love, sacrifice, hope, bravery, redemption, and good versus evil.  Wendy is still contemplating: why this book? Yet, as she digs deeper, she begins to discern deeper messages in her own novel, like the the power of hope, love, and goodness.

The target audience for this suspense book is broad and encompasses many kinds of readers, but generally includes those who enjoy mystery, thriller, and crime fiction. People who will like this novel often seek a thrill of the chase, the excitement of unknown outcomes, and the satisfaction of unraveling complex plots. They will enjoy the suspenseful Devil of the Dunes regardless of age or gender.

Further, people are naturally inclined to seek answers, and suspense keeps them guessing.  There often is an adrenaline rush. The tension built by suspense can trigger the body's fight-or-flight response, leading to feelings of excitement, and this physiological reaction is pleasurable to many people. Readers of Devil of the Dunes will definitely experience these feelings!

Devil in the Dunes is comprised of 52 chapters and an epilogue. It is  85,690 words long.

The novel can be obtained via Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IngramSpark, and other worldwide distributors as well as several Michigan bookstores. Go to the Purchase tab for complete purchasing information. Thank you. 

Reviews are available at this website and also at Amazon. Click on button below to go Amazon reviews. 

https://elizabethmccravy.com/start-a-book-club/

https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/books/a64491824/how-to-create-successful-book-club/

https://action.everylibrary.org/secrets_successful_book_club?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=14296858250&gbraid=0AAAAACxqR4XXgfeZon0R_Ge-4bBwZMqkY&gclid=CjwKCAjw_pDBBhBMEiwAmY02NnqsGqQFwGHVJSdC4HYpY5LHgOsH5WkmXpHH60Maa3OrEMLeBxEkSBoCwRkQAvD_BwE

https://sorrelharriet.medium.com/book-clubs-that-dont-suck-9e3734cbb9e5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0AhpNhTD9M

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