J T Holden

Apple-Polisher J T Holden

"At the time, I would have said that it all began with the matchbook . . . the black matchbook with the Greek symbols written on the inside flap-a coded message that would lead me some eighty miles up into the densely wooded hills of Pierpoint, Pennsylvania, to a Gothic-looking establishment known as The Black Otter . . .

At the time, I would have believed this without question.

But in retrospect, I would have to say that it really all began with the painting of the naked boy."

So begins the odyssey of Jack McGregor, an idealistic young high school teacher, who stumbles upon a mystery when he agrees to take on the task of sorting through the personal effects of his recently deceased mentor, the enigmatic and formidable art teacher Gordon Powell.

In Gordon's gloomy one-bedroom apartment, Jack discovers the painting of a naked teenage boy-an artistic rendering that hauntingly resembles a former student: senior class golden boy, and apple-polisher extraordinaire, Mickey Greenleaf, who disappeared shortly after graduation five years ago and hasn't been heard from since.

With the clues mounting, and cryptic dreams plaguing his troubled sleep, Jack sets out in search of the truth on a winding path that leads to a dark place where revelations with far-reaching ramifications await.