Retirement was supposed to quiet the darkness inside Balam.

He had walked away from the pressure, the sleepless nights, and the relentless demands, convinced that the perfect life he and Emma had built would be enough to starve the wickedness within him.

It wasn’t. The hunger never slept. It only waited.

When Balam has the chance to purchase the fertility clinic that helped create his own family, everyone around him sees purpose, stability, and a new chapter. Balam sees access.

Access to DNA.

Access to new victims.

Access to a perfect way to bury the truth.

But Detective John Grimm has not forgotten the man Balam framed, the evidence he planted, or the partner he left to burn. Suspicion is not proof, and Balam has built his life around making sure the evidence always points somewhere else.

This time, however, the mask is starting to slip.

A chilling psychological thriller about obsession, deception, DNA evidence, and the darkness hiding behind a perfect life, Prey Before Dawn: Feeding Demons continues the Balam series from James Sackos, author of Prey Before Bed, named Best Psychological Thriller in the US in 2025 by the Evergreen Awards.