The Hangman's Forest

According to his website, William Joseph was born and raised in New Jersey and in an internationally published photographer and graphic designer. As an author, his first novel, This is War was published in 2017 as a three part series. Since then he has authored 14 novels of horror, young-adult fantasy, and romance. I borrowed his crime-fiction novella The Hangman's Forest from a friend. It was independently published in 2023.

Detective Iokua Sanne, half-Hawaiin and half-German, arrives in a rural unnamed town to restart his career. After an incident while working for a Chicago police force, Sanne is happy turn the page and begin anew. In a meet and greet with his new department readers learn that Sanne is a recovering alcoholic. He is then introduced to his new partner, Detective Hill. The two will be busy.

In alternating chapters, a serial killer named Daniel is capturing young women. He ties their hands and ankles and then secures a noose around the victims' throats. While pleasing himself Daniel slowly lifts the victims into a treetop where they suffocate. His little funeral forest has quite a few bodies swinging in the wind. 

As Daniel continues to capture and kill women both Sanne and Hill get to work on studying recovered tapes form a nearby store that shows a victim being attacked. Together the two lead an investigation to locate the killer before he strikes again.

The Hangman's Forest is only 120 pages and reminds me of a more violent type of novella or novelette found in a mystery magazine like Ellery Queen or Mike Shayne. There isn't a lot of character development because the pace is so quick. It worked well for me and I was mostly pleased with this brisk crime-fiction tale and the hunt for the killer. Recommended. Get it HERE.