Jaded lawyer Braxton Hayward escapes to Jacksonville, Oregon for a fresh start, but eerie voices and a missing family pull him into the town’s dark secrets. A chilling supernatural thriller, The Pauper Field blurs the line between reality and madness as dark legacies and buried secrets come to light.
We began with a rigorous manuscript assessment and guided the author through deep developmental editing to turn an ambitious legal–occult mystery into a tightly focused, propulsive thriller. We then delivered big-house production—cover and interior design, multi-format release, and a targeted review push that helped the novel earn a Kirkus ‘Get It’ recommendation along with strong trade reviews from Publishers Weekly/BookLife, Midwest Book Review, and others.
Braxton Hayward thought Jacksonville, Oregon, would be his fresh start—an escape from a failed marriage and a career in ruins. But the town has other plans. Late at night, whispers crawl through the darkness, murmuring a name he doesn’t recognize yet somehow knows. The voices aren’t just in his head—they’re leading him somewhere.
Then, a local family vanishes without a trace. Jacksonville’s past begins surfacing in terrifying ways. Secrets buried deep—deliberately forgotten—are clawing their way back, and the truth refuses to stay hidden.
As the line between reality and nightmare unravels, Braxton is forced to confront the town’s dark history—and his own haunted past. But the deeper he digs, the closer he comes to an impossible revelation—one the voices will stop at nothing to expose.
Category: Thriller
Release date: October 6, 2025
Page size: 6″x 9″
Word count: 86,630
Estimated page count: 304
Trevor G. Jackson explores the fine line between truth and illusion – both in the courtroom and on the page. A Napa-based attorney with a sharp eye for law, human nature, and the secrets people keep, his debut novel, The Pauper Field, blends psychological suspense, dark humor, and eerie realism. When not practicing law or writing, he enjoys spending time with his family, exploring Napa’s trails with his dog, and capturing its landscapes from above with his drone.
“An entrancing thriller… Jackson’s fluid prose pulls readers into the shifting center of the case.”
“Jackson’s debut hums with quiet unease, its tension steadily creeping… an assured, genre-blurring debut with strong scenecraft and compelling characterization.”
“A powerful story filled with inviting inspections, realistic characters, and unpredictable journeys… a compelling saga that is hard to put down.”
Still exploring? Great. Here are a few ways to get to know us better:
