8. DEATH CREEPS CLOSER — WANDERER DETECTIVE SERIES
In the secluded, tranquil valley of Wesselsdal, where life is predictable and peaceful, a nightmare strikes unexpectedly. A young boy, Jannie Botha, vanishes without a trace from his own backyard. The close-knit community’s panic-stricken search yields nothing. The child is gone, as if swallowed by the earth.
The true horror, however, begins in the middle of the night when Jannie’s parents hear his voice in their bedroom. It is a message from the darkness, a warning from the valley’s deceased founder, Jakob Wessels. Leave Wesselsdal, or you will never see your child again. When a second boy disappears under the same mysterious circumstances and his parents receive the same supernatural message, the town’s fear escalates into hysterical panic. The case attracts the attention of the legendary private detective, Obed de Swardt, also known as the wandering detective. He arrives in town discreetly, determined to unearth the truth behind the ghost stories and disappearances. But even he is unprepared for the malevolence brewing in the valley. His own nightmarish experience in the hotel, which leaves behind physical evidence, leads him to wonder whether he is dealing with a restless spirit or a brilliant, psychopathic human.
The tension reaches a breaking point when a strange rainstorm transforms the valley into a green hell. Plants grow at an unnatural, terrifying pace, and along with this grotesque life, an invisible, deadly gas begins to fill the low-lying parts of the basin. While most residents flee, Obed and a handful of allies, including a courageous reporter and the local sergeant, realize the gruesome truth. They are trapped! Cut off from the outside world, with telephone lines severed and the power station sabotaged, a desperate race against time begins. Is it the vengeance of Jakob Wessels’s spirit, or the work of a ruthless, deranged human mind with a shocking motive? Obed must unravel the valley’s deadly secret before the silence descends upon them for good.
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