Deep in the rainforest of Guatemala, a missing scientist, long given up for dead, languishes in a lightless prison cell. Fueled by a powerful, unknown narcotic, his senses are on fire; he can feel them expanding far beyond human bounds, even as the drug tears at his sanity. Upon learning that his friend is alive, Carson Grant mounts a frenzied rescue before the appointed time of execution. While a cutthroat band of looters, seeking easy riches, closes in for the kill, Grant stumbles onto the remnant of a mysterious hybrid civilization intent on destroying anyone that threatens to expose it. Trapped and desperate, Grant entrusts his team's survival into the hands of a young Maya cop and his beautiful, haunted sister.

Winner of the 2012 Royal Palm Literary Award, Place of Fear propels you inexorably toward a collision between Norse myth and Maya history, wherein only ultimate sacrifice brings survival. Place of Fear is the stunning prequel hinted at in Brigands Key, the thriller described by The Florida Weekly as "a perfect storm of menace...breathtaking!" Fans of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, James Rollins, and Steve Berry will find in Place of Fear to be a pause-resisting adventure and absorbing mystery that will keep them listening long into the night.