13:24 – A Dark Thriller

Honored with a starred review in Publishers Weekly's Best Books annual issue, author and child-abuse activist M. Dolon Hickmon's heart-pounding, ripped-from-the-headlines fiction debut has mesmerized countless crime fiction fans, while simultaneously guiding them to a deeper understanding of childhood trauma and the lifelong recovery process. The Kindle edition is a current Top 25 Best Seller in Amazon's "Child Abuse” and "Vigilante Justice Thrillers” categories. The author's non-fiction writings, on the intersections of culture and abuse, have appeared in prestigious print and web publications around the world. {Book provided for review/feature consideration}

M. Dolon Hickmon's 13:24 – A Dark Thriller is a unique survivor-driven public outreach, intended to deepen public awareness of crimes against children and of the lingering impacts of PTSD. Published with the financial backing of nearly one hundred child abuse survivors and their allies, the project has been enormously successful to date: honored with a starred review in Publishers Weekly's Best Books annual special issue, the book is now shelved in libraries from Helena, Montana to Zürich, Switzerland. The Kindle edition of 13:24 – A Dark Thriller is a current Top 25 Best Seller in Amazon's "Child Abuse” and "Vigilante Justice Thrillers” categories.

"I have written and published essays and research on child abuse and excessive corporal punishment since 2006,” Hickmon says. "I eventually realized that although studies were being done and papers being written, the latest advances in our understanding of early trauma were not reaching the public. My solution was to create a fast-paced crime thriller that would combine elements of my own experiences with true crime headlines and cutting-edge research into the neurobiological basis of PTSD. With the help of a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, I assembled an amazing team of publishing veterans with hundreds of fiction best sellers between them.”

The result is a heart-pounding, ripped-from-the-headlines crime thriller that sensitively guides readers through the spiritual, physical, and emotional consequences of child abuse and the lifelong process of overcoming it.

Publishers Weekly raved: "Hickmon unleashes a shocking blitzkrieg of murder, conspiracy, and child abuse in this disturbing, breathlessly plotted murder mystery […] Eschewing easy answers for moral complexity, this thriller is unsettling entertainment that offers catharsis."

The accuracy of the book's complex portrayals have been attested to by child abuse survivors and trauma experts alike: "Mr. Hickmon writes with the clarity, power and passion of someone who really knows what he is writing about, and who understands the wide range of responses human beings experience when trying to deal with lives affected by ongoing trauma,” declared Bristol University trauma researcher and emeritus professor Dr. Kim Etherington, in her pre-publication review; "There are textbooks that explain the scientific mechanisms that underpin post traumatic stress disorder, but this book tells a story that reaches out to help us all understand.”

The book's back cover effectively distills the plot: "Detective William Hursel has worked countless murder cases; staring down the cruelest deeds humanity has to offer. But nothing prepares him for what he'll uncover while pursuing 14-year-old Christopher Pesner, a suspect in the brutal rage-killing of his own mother. While news reports focus on Chris's odd obsession with the violent, blasphemous heavy metal band, Rehoboam, Hursel suspects a deeper motive — a hunch that is confirmed when Chris's second victim is discovered. Racing to piece together the identity of Chris's next target, Hursel unearths the shocking link between an embattled politician, a controversial celebrity evangelist, and a shadowy underworld where human traffickers ply the wealthy with unseemly indulgences.”

Author M. Dolon Hickmon is a writer, activist, and a survivor of religious child maltreatment. His writings can be found on news websites like AlterNet, OnFaith, and Salon, and his opinion pieces have appeared in newspapers such as the Scotsman, the South Lake Press, and the Bainbridge (GA) Post-Searchlight. Hickmon has been interviewed by local and nationally syndicated radio talk show hosts, including Washington DC based Sex, Politics and Religion with Jamila Bey, Live from Seattle with Doug Bursch, and the Los Angeles-based Jesse Lee Peterson show.

Hickmon's original research continues to be cited by many and was included in a 2010 civil rights presentation to a committee of the US Congress. His hobbies include reading, songwriting, and playing acoustic and electric guitar. He lives with his wife and their daughter.

For more, please visit the website: http://1324book.com.