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The Ruination of Michael Sterling
He thought he understood hunger.
The hunger for recognition. For respect. For the truth about his sister's disappearance six years ago in these same mountains.
But in Marrow Bone Creek, hunger has teeth. And it wears pearls.
Journalist Michael Sterling has been investigating the disappearances plaguing Marrow Bone Creek—including his sister Denise, who vanished while volunteering in the mountains. When people are hospitalized after a mysterious incident at the Fellowship of the Everlasting Light's Strawberry Moon gathering, Michael knows he's finally close to breaking the story.
But in a town built on secrets, where reality bends to whoever tells the prettiest lies, Michael is about to learn that some offers are too good to be true, and some women know exactly what you want to hear.
The hunger for recognition. For respect. For the truth about his sister's disappearance six years ago in these same mountains.
But in Marrow Bone Creek, hunger has teeth. And it wears pearls.
Journalist Michael Sterling has been investigating the disappearances plaguing Marrow Bone Creek—including his sister Denise, who vanished while volunteering in the mountains. When people are hospitalized after a mysterious incident at the Fellowship of the Everlasting Light's Strawberry Moon gathering, Michael knows he's finally close to breaking the story.
But in a town built on secrets, where reality bends to whoever tells the prettiest lies, Michael is about to learn that some offers are too good to be true, and some women know exactly what you want to hear.
- GenresHorror
420 pages, Paperback
Published November 10, 2025
31 people want to read
About the author
Tasha L. Harrison
31 books437 followers#Author of dirty talking, nasty, where-do-you-want-me-to-put-it, cinnamon roll heroes | creator of #20kin5Days | host of #Wordmakers Community
tashalharrison.com
@tashalharrison on Twitter and Instagram.
tashalharrison.com
@tashalharrison on Twitter and Instagram.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 13, 2026
I devoured the first book in this series, UNDER A STRAWBERRY MOON, which was a gothic dark romance. THE RUINATION OF MICHAEL STERLING is much longer and yet, I read it even faster than the first book in the series, although this book is more erotic horror than romance. I honestly love how genre-defying this series is, though. There's something so retro about Harrison's style and prose; it's like being plunged into a 1970s gothic at the peak of the pulp gothic boom.
Marrow Bone Creek has been hiding secrets that go back for generations. Michael Sterling, a small town reporter with big ambitions, is doing his best to unravel these secrets-- partially because he believes it's the right thing to do, and partially because his sister went missing while looking into these same secrets and he wants to avenge her death.
The only wrench in his plans is a beautiful woman twice his age: Laverne Hightower, one of the founding families, who absolutely has her fingers in the blackberry pies that smell so sweet beneath the rot. She's running for mayor and Michael has been tasked with recording her campaign, but Laverne isn't just interested in having him write her story; she wants to get under his skin, down to his very bones.
THE RUINATION OF MICHAEL STERLING is dark, disturbing, and all kinds of wrong, but it's a hot kind of wrong that will have you questioning whether you would have the moral bearing to withstand the worst kind of temptation if it was served up before you on a glistening silver plate. I'm just so impressed by the story and the prose and the ATMOSPHERE. It was like a cross between one of those 90s femme fatal erotic thrillers, like Basic Instinct, with a heavy sprinkling of Wickerman or Midnight Mass.
I absolutely cannot wait for book three. This series is absolutely fantastic.
5 stars
Marrow Bone Creek has been hiding secrets that go back for generations. Michael Sterling, a small town reporter with big ambitions, is doing his best to unravel these secrets-- partially because he believes it's the right thing to do, and partially because his sister went missing while looking into these same secrets and he wants to avenge her death.
The only wrench in his plans is a beautiful woman twice his age: Laverne Hightower, one of the founding families, who absolutely has her fingers in the blackberry pies that smell so sweet beneath the rot. She's running for mayor and Michael has been tasked with recording her campaign, but Laverne isn't just interested in having him write her story; she wants to get under his skin, down to his very bones.
THE RUINATION OF MICHAEL STERLING is dark, disturbing, and all kinds of wrong, but it's a hot kind of wrong that will have you questioning whether you would have the moral bearing to withstand the worst kind of temptation if it was served up before you on a glistening silver plate. I'm just so impressed by the story and the prose and the ATMOSPHERE. It was like a cross between one of those 90s femme fatal erotic thrillers, like Basic Instinct, with a heavy sprinkling of Wickerman or Midnight Mass.
I absolutely cannot wait for book three. This series is absolutely fantastic.
5 stars
February 23, 2026
Damn...this one creeped me out more than book 1. Seeing everything unfold...every decision Michael made knowing you as the reader cant do a damn thing!
This was oh so goood. Whew
This was oh so goood. Whew
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews