I come awake like I’m coming up from underwater, struggling to get away from the dream.
I’m on the couch, the fire out, the room dark. No one to wake me, to ask me to come to bed. Just me and a book—not even a real book these days. I pick up the cover of my audiobook. Crime and Punishment. Right. No wonder I fell asleep. Dostoevsky can really go on.
But what woke me? I listen. Nothing but the slap of rain on the gutters.
Maybe it was just the dream, a log settling in the fireplace, or a mouse. Takeout cartons and dirty dishes are piled on the coffee table, along with an empty whisky bottle and a pizza box that’s been there at least a week. A mouse would serve me right.
I check the clock on the wall. Not quite five. Should I go back to sleep on the couch or get up and go upstairs to bed?
Wait. There. A knock, so soft I barely hear it over the slap of rain on the gutters. This can’t be good. No one knocks on your door with good news this early in the morning. Wide awake now, I heave myself off the couch and pad to the door.
This can’t be good.
I bend to the peephole, and the dream washes over me again. Streetlights arcing overhead, a shadow eclipsing the light, a wet thud reverberating in my head. This, this knock, can’t have anything to do with that night, right?
I hold my breath and look through the peephole.
Nobody there.
Relief sweeps over me, so strong I sway on my feet a little. Probably imagined the whole thing, some leftover from the dream. I turn away, to go upstairs to bed.
Then, a mewling from outside. A cat? I don’t like cats. But I also don’t know any cats who knock. I flip on the porch light and open the door. Cold air smacks me in the face.
A kid stands on the soaked-through rattan mat, too short to be seen through the peephole. Two, maybe three years old, wearing a brown fuzzy hoodie with little animal ears.
No one else in sight.
ECHOES OF THE LOST
Genre: Thriller
Release: May 2026
Format: Print, Digital
Amazon | Bookshop.org
One retired detective. One frightened boy. One daring librarian. The case that will unravel everything. A tense, emotional mystery perfect for fans of Michael Connelly and Liz Moore.
He usually had something to go on: a body, a name, a weapon . . . What did he have now?
Retired detective Ster McCaffrey has lived in isolation since the death of his beloved wife. Recently disabled from a traumatic brain injury, his quiet life is interrupted when he wakes in the dead of night to find a child sobbing on his doorstep—leaving him with more questions than answers.
After learning that the boy and his missing mother are unhoused with no official investigation underway, Ster decides to solve the mystery himself. To do so, he’ll need to interview a community whose voice is rarely heard: the houseless of Portland, Oregon. Diving deeper into their tight-knit circle, Ster realizes trust is hard-won, and answers even more so. The further he goes, the more difficult it is to tell where the case ends, and his past begins.
With threats to his home, new evidence found in the river, and signs pointing to murder—friends and enemies are closer than Ster realizes. Only one thing is clear: the boy is in grave danger.
About the author
Cindy Brown’s body of work defies genre, yet her serious crime fiction, humorous mysteries, disability news stories, and comedic plays all share themes of justice and community. She has been shortlisted for an Agatha Award, had over a dozen plays produced, and awarded a disability journalism fellowship by Women’s eNews in 2024.
Cindy and her husband live in their favorite city in the world, Portland, Oregon, where she continues to write stories that speak to her, hoping to shine a light on the goodness that surrounds us. Connect with Cindy at www.cindybrownwriter.com.