In 1975 the small town of Hulis was ground zero in a frantic search for 10-year-old Merrie Frances Callahan, as well as an intense manhunt for her abductor.

Thirty-five years later, it seems the FBI would like to pretend it never happened.

Special Agent Constance Mandalay didn't get that memo.…

The small town of Hulis is hiding a killer secret.…

In The Bleak Midwinter is based on the short teaser novella Merrie Axemas: A Killer Holiday Tale, but it tells the whole story of 10-year-old Merrie Frances Callahan's 1975 abduction, and the present-day murders that are somehow intricately linked to that event.

SA Constance Mandalay is assigned what appears to be a seven-year-old cold case that echos the events of the 35-year-old child abduction. Unfortunately for all involved, the case heats up for a short time each year with a brutal murder that appears eerily staged, and occurs under impossible circumstances.

Undaunted, she faces the task with no backup, a mysteriously redacted case file, and the inevitable murder fast approaching.

Mandalay's experience as the handler for an FBI occult/paranormal expert makes her the perfect choice for this investigation. However, even her brushes with the unexplained still cannot prepare her for the answer she was not supposed to discover.…