The Haunting of Modesto O'Brien

Fiction
Pub date: September 20, 2025
5.5 x 8.5 in | 312 pgs
Trade Paperback: 9781997529002
ePub: 9781997529019

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A gothic tale from deep within the boreal forest…
 
Violence and greed have intruded into a wild and remote land. It’s 1907, and silver fever has drawn thousands of men into a fledgling mining camp in the heart of the wilderness. Modesto O’Brien, fortune-teller and detective, is there too - but he isn’t looking for riches. He’s seeking revenge. 
 
O’Brien soon finds himself entangled with the mysterious Nail sisters, Lucy and Lily. On the run from their past and headed for trouble, Lily turns to O’Brien when Lucy goes missing. But what should have been a straightforward case of kidnapping pulls O’Brien into a world of ancient myths, magic, and male violence. 
 
As he searches for Lucy, O’Brien fears that dark forces are emerging from the ravaged landscape. Mesmerized by a nightmarish creature stalking the wilderness, and haunted by his past,  O’Brien struggles to maintain his grip on reality as he faces hard choices about loyalty, sacrifice, and revenge. 

Praise for The Haunting of Modesto O'Brien

A propulsive and fast-paced historical thriller that glitters with a violent, nightmarish-tinged atmosphere. The action-adventure is deftly paced, the mystery of the beating heart of the novel is unsettling, and Griffin excites, entertains, and provokes with an intensely haunting ghost story about what we must do for our loved ones, when our turbulent pasts haunt us ourselves. Set among a wild and wicked landscape of the uncanny, the characters navigate corrupt circumstances out of their control, amidst despair and volatile events that detail their very human obsessions and vulnerability tied to the wealth and prosperity of the land.

—Lindsay Wong, Villain Hitting for Vicious Little Nobodies

About the Author

Brit Griffin is the author of the climate-fiction Wintermen trilogy (Latitude 46) and has written essays, musings, and articles for various publications. Griffin spent many years as a researcher for the Timiskaming First Nation, an Algonquin community in northern Quebec. She lives in Cobalt, northern Ontario, where she is the mother of three grown daughters. These days, she divides her time between writing and caring for her unruly yard.