Foreword's Book of the Year IndieFab Finalist

"An engaging and uplifting tale, Climbing the Coliseum will appeal to mystery lovers who enjoy characters with depth." -Foreword Clarion Review

He's teetering on the edge of suicide. She's a reminder of his tragic mistake. Forced together by a dark puzzle, can they become each other's savior?

Ed Northrup is overwhelmed by quiet despair. Still dealing with the fallout from a heartbreaking case, the despondent psychologist contemplates ending it all. But his constant stream of tortured thoughts take second place when his ex-wife drops off her angry teenage daughter in his care... and then vanishes.

Floundering in the face of the fourteen-year-old's sullen resentment, Ed discovers an ally in a recently arrived deputy sheriff to help him track down the girl's missing mother. But with the troubled teen raising the specter of his greatest failure as a therapist, he fears any attempt at atonement will only result in tragedy.

Can Ed master his own misgivings and help a damaged young woman find a way forward?

Climbing the Coliseum is the tense first book in the Monastery Valley series of character-driven mysteries. If you like haunted protagonists, rich prose, and stories filled with hope, then you'll love Bill Percy's bittersweet tale.

"...an excellent book, very well-written, with detailed character development." –Strong Reviews

When cattle baron Magnus Anderssen collapses mentally, psychologist Ed Northrup struggles to find the cause - a terrible event buried in Magnus's past leaving him veering between suicide and murder. Meanwhile, Deputies Andi Pelton and Brad Ordrew clash as they investigate Jared Hansen, a boy caught with rifles and a paranoid plan to kill his schoolmates. Their problem? Jared, a great kid, a school leader, has no previous problems. Ordrew’s convinced Jared’s a mass shooter-in-waiting, but Andi’s not. Ed joins their search for whatever caused his radical transformation from great kid to psychotic killer. It’s a race against time: Magnus grows more irrational and homicidal, Jared's insanity may not be controlled before it’s too late, and Ed’s risky plan to save the boy may destroy his relationship with Andi. Nobody’s Safe Here, a psychological thriller, tells the story of a community of ordinary, decent people facing terrifying mysteries.

"Mystery fans who prefer their whodunits in a cozier form than the old school hard-boiled will be pleased." –IndieReader Approved

A mysterious fire in a remote forest clearing; a woman's charred bones; unexplained tracks in the rutted road—the only clues Deputy Andi Pelton has to what happened. Then she meets an old man living alone in a forest compound that obviously houses many people. Sex trafficking in the Montana wilderness? As Andi and psychologist Ed Northrup struggle to solve the brutal and fiery murder, Andi faces a fear she didn’t know she had. The horrors they unearth lead them deep into the appalling reality of prison gangs and a cult led by a malign Bishop—and threaten to overwhelm Andi and Ed’s romance and her growing bond with her “step-girlfriend,” Ed’s adopted daughter, Grace. Will that center hold when Andi finds the killer holding a knife against her throat? And if it does and she succeeds, will she be able to face her greater fear?

Book Excellence Awards 2020 Finalist - Political Thriller

"Percy juggles both plotlines effectively while addressing important social issues." –Publisher's Weekly

A cold-blooded murder. The victim: a fourteen-year-old boy. The shooter waits patiently for the cops and calmly explains his right to kill the boy. “I was defending my property.” Can Deputy Andi Pelton find the evidence to break through the killer’s stand-your-ground defense? Suddenly, Sheriff Ben Stewart almost dies and cannot campaign for re-election. Andi knows she has to take his place—her nemesis, Deputy Brad Ordrew, runs unopposed and he’s promised to fire her when he’s sheriff. Can she stand her own ground to stay in Monastery Valley while she tries to solve the murder and defends herself against scurrilous political ads paid for by a mysterious stranger?

The hottest Montana summer on record. Tempers fray, cattle suffer. Heavily armed protesters, vowing to "take back federal lands for the people," occupy and fortify a summer pasture belonging to the Bureau of Land Management, naming it Freedom Camp. Deputy Andi Pelton and Sheriff Ordrew must deal with these men, whose fury only mounts.

When he arrests the leader, Sheriff Ordrew is shot, and Andi assumes command of the negotiations. Two FBI agents-to whom the protesters refuse to speak-help her, alongside her psychologist husband Ed, who conducts the actual negotiations. They struggle to resolve the bitter standoff before it is drenched in blood and violence. Amid this battle, wildfire strikes Mt. Adams, threatening a cherished landmark. As the fire engulfs the precious site, hell breaks loose at the protest-and Andi must solve them both.

Foreword's "Book of the Year" IndieFab Finalist

Big Book Award's Distinguised Favorite

Book Excellence Awards Finalist

"Percy juggles both plotlines effectively while addressing important social issues." –Publisher's Weekly

***This box set includes the first four mysteries in the Monastery Valley Series. Book #5, The Fury Before the Fire, releases January 28, 2021.

CLIMBING THE COLISEUM (Book 1)

It’s the rugged Monastery Valley of Montana. High on the cliff called the Coliseum stands a man, deciding whether to live or die. In the valley below, Grace Ellonson, fourteen, will be abandoned by her mother. Where has Grace’s mother gone, and why has she left her daughter behind? A rancher will be seduced into a racist and anti-government conspiracy—who’s leading the conspiracy and what are his plans? Depressed psychologist Ed Northrup and Monastery Valley newcomer deputy sheriff Andi Pelton struggle to unravel these mysteries before they explode in a violent collision. And amid the chaos, Ed, Andi, and Grace must face the most formidable decision of their lives.

NOBODY'S SAFE HERE (Book 2)

When cattle baron Magnus Anderssen collapses mentally, psychologist Ed Northrup struggles to find the cause - a terrible event buried in Magnus's past leaving him veering between suicide and murder. Meanwhile, Deputies Andi Pelton and Brad Ordrew clash as they investigate Jared Hansen, a boy caught with rifles and a paranoid plan to kill his schoolmates. Their problem? Jared, a great kid, a school leader, has no previous problems. Ordrew’s convinced Jared’s a mass shooter-in-waiting, but Andi’s not. Ed joins their search for whatever caused his radical transformation from great kid to psychotic killer. It’s a race against time: Magnus grows more irrational and homicidal, Jared's insanity may not be controlled before it’s too late, and Ed’s risky plan to save the boy may destroy his relationship with Andi. Nobody’s Safe Here, a psychological thriller, tells the story of a community of ordinary, decent people facing terrifying mysteries.

THE BISHOP BURNED THE LADY (Book 3)

A mysterious fire in a remote forest clearing; a woman's charred bones; unexplained tracks in the rutted road—the only clues Deputy Andi Pelton has to what happened. Then she meets an old man living alone in a forest compound that obviously houses many people. Sex trafficking in the Montana wilderness? As Andi and psychologist Ed Northrup struggle to solve the brutal and fiery murder, Andi faces a fear she didn’t know she had. The horrors they unearth lead them deep into the appalling reality of prison gangs and a cult led by a malign Bishop—and threaten to overwhelm Andi and Ed’s romance and her growing bond with her “step-girlfriend,” Ed’s adopted daughter, Grace. Will that center hold when Andi finds the killer holding a knife against her throat? And if it does and she succeeds, will she be able to face her greater fear?

STANDING OUR GROUND (Book 4)

A cold-blooded murder. The victim: a fourteen-year-old boy. The shooter waits patiently for the cops and calmly explains his right to kill the boy. “I was defending my property.