Descending Son — Scott Shepherd

If Jess Stark really knew what was on the other side of the coffin lid, he might just decide to remain six feet under…

Jess stayed away from Palm Springs for seven years, avoiding his family and the girl who broke his heart. It took a desperate call from his mother to force him home to see his ailing father. As soon as he returned, Jess found himself embroiled in two suspicious deaths, emotional turmoil with his family, and a supernatural secret that involved them all -- winding up in an unmarked grave in the middle of the Coachella Desert.

In a tale that spreads from the California Desert to the jungles of Mexico and set in a town that time has practically forgotten, Descending Son is rooted in the sins of Jess's past and a future that threatens his life. Sure, Jess can go home again, but there's a heavy price to pay.