Stories of small-town Texas where the past never stays buried.
Small Towns, Deep Secrets, Stories That Stir
A confession. A drowning. A town built on the wrong story. When a respected deacon admits to causing a young woman’s death twenty years earlier, Pastor Elias Ward and Cassie Pruitt are forced to confront the carefully protected history of Smoke Creek. A slow-burn mystery about the weight of secrets and the cost of finally telling the truth.
Michael Thorn is an ordained Baptist minister, a U.S. Army veteran, and a lifelong son of East Texas. He writes about small-town Texas from the inside.
He lives in Henderson County, in the same landscape where his debut novel is set. When he isn’t writing, he’s usually fishing or raising his children to tell the truth even when it costs.
What Smoke Creek Kept is his first novel.
Letters to the Creek
Have a question about the books, a story of your own, want to book an event, or just want to say hello? Send a letter — I’d love to hear from you.