Blood in the shower. Worms in the food. And friends who keep too many secrets. This is not how Holly Idaho imagined life at a Christian university. Just two weeks into her sophomore year and her life is already unraveling. Her closest girlfriends, Anne and Celia, are hiding something. Peter, her only guy friend on campus, won’t tell her why he’s acting weirder than usual. Owin, who has been like a brother to her, issues cold challenges to her faith. Holly tries to be patient, but all this rejection leaves her feeling isolated. A few anonymous pranks only make the loneliness worse. But then an unseen intruder terrorizes her at her parents’ house, and Holly realizes: There is more going on here than strained friendships and practical jokes. There is something to fear. Then Peter stuns her with the truth: a demon is stalking her, feeding her doubts and fears in a final play for her soul. It’s Peter’s God-given task to protect her--but he’s running out of options. Holly’s faith refuses to sustain her. Her friends succumb to forces beyond her understanding, and Evil feels a lot less evil. As the demon closes in, Holly faces a horrible choice between a heaven she fears and a hell she never imagined possible. Colors of Deception is the first book in the Demons of Saltmarch trilogy. Approximately 80,000 words.
