Winner of the Literary Titan Book Award

America Writing Awards Finalist in LGBTQ Fiction

"The Lost Boy, by S. F. Williams, is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant tale that combines mystery, introspection, and heart. It's a story that stays with you and one that leaves readers eager for the next installment in the series. A truly remarkable debut." —Literary Titan

"A cozy hometown mystery to wrap yourself in when you need yourself a lovely cop to follow around."
–Reedsy Reviews

Can Officer Callum Nowak face his childhood phobia of the woods in time to catch a killer and save a missing boy?

When Callum “Cal” Nowak aged out of foster care at the age of eighteen, he fled his small hometown in the Catskill Mountains, hoping to leave his traumatic childhood in the past. Landing in New York City, he joined the police force.

Fourteen years later, while placed on administrative leave for roughing up a suspect, Cal returns home for a visit. Everywhere he turns, he’s reminded of his mother’s brutal murder, which he witnessed when he was a child.

When the husband of the woman he dated in high school before he came out dies in his arms from a gunshot wound, he must find the killer before she goes to prison for a crime she didn’t commit. Having no official jurisdiction in the town, though, he must be discreet, which proves no easy feat.

Aided by a handsome stranger who awakens feelings Cal didn’t know he could have, he ventures into the woods where he spent five of the worst days and nights of his life hiding from his mother’s killer, and together they uncover important evidence in the case.

But when a local boy goes missing, can Cal face his phobia alone and save the boy? Or will his childhood trauma defeat him?

Set in 2002, The Lost Boy is the first novel in the Nyes Landing Crime Mystery series. If you enjoy small town murder mysteries that feature a gay romance, like Joseph Hansen’s Fadeout, Michael Nava’s Lay Your Sleeping Head, or Pretty Pretty Boys by Gregory Ashe, don’t miss this gripping and emotional read that will keep you on the edge of your seat.