Weight of Waking

By Shawna Chan

The pounding on the door intensified. Principal Anderson's voice now, more authoritative: "Jesse Morales, open this door immediately. Maya Chen is unwell. She's having delusions related to her head trauma. We need to get her help and make sure you're safe."

Jesse's eyes hardened. They moved to stand beside Maya. "What do we do?"

"We wait for backup."

Then a new sound-the window. Someone was on the fire escape.

Maya spun to see Chief Patterson jimmying the window lock, his face grim and determined. He saw her watching and smiled without warmth. "You should have walked away, Ms. Chen."

The window slid open. Patterson started to climb through.

And then Derek Hansen appeared behind him on the fire escape, gun drawn. "Chief Patterson, step away from that window. Now."

Patterson froze. "Hansen. What are you doing here?"

"Stopping you from committing murder." Derek's voice was steel. "Hands where I can see them. You're under arrest."

From inside the apartment, Maya heard the main door's lock beginning to give. They were breaking it down.

Then Sam's voice from the hallway, loud and authoritative: "This is Detective Sam Wolfe, Crescent Falls PD. Everyone step back from that door. Now."

A moment of silence. Then Thornton: "Detective Wolfe. I'm surprised at you. I thought you understood how things work here."

"I understand perfectly. You're all under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder. And unless you want to add assaulting an officer to that charge, you'll step back and put your hands up."

Weight of Waking

She survived what was meant to kill her. Now she's the only one who can see the truth.

Maya Chen wakes from a six-month coma with an IQ of 167 and an unnerving new ability: she can see patterns no one else notices. What doctors call a miracle, Maya recognizes as something far more disturbing. Her car accident wasn't an accident at all.

In the idyllic small town of Crescent Falls, everything looks safe, prosperous, and friendly-until Maya starts pulling at the loose threads. Beneath the town's charm lies a centuries-old conspiracy: a ritual that demands one death every October. The victims are always outsiders. The vulnerable. People no one will miss.

This year, Maya was supposed to be the sacrifice.

When she discovers the next victim has already been chosen-a young barista who came to Crescent Falls searching for belonging-Maya faces an impossible choice. Expose the truth and destroy the town, or stay silent and let an innocent person die.

With the help of burned-out detective Sam Wolfe, Maya has nine days to gather proof against thirteen of the town's most powerful citizens. But in a place where loyalty is enforced through fear and silence, seeing the truth may be more dangerous than being blind to it.

Weight of Waking is a dark small-town thriller about power, complicity, and the cost of refusing to look away-featuring a brilliant, neurodivergent heroine who refuses to make herself smaller ever again.

Perfect for fans of atmospheric conspiracy thrillers, morally complex mysteries, and intelligent female protagonists who won't be silenced.

dark small town thriller

conspiracy thriller novel

neurodivergent female protagonist

intelligent mystery thriller

cult ritual small town

atmospheric psychological thrillerPacific Northwest thrillerRomanceMiddle aged love interest

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GLYFHP9K
• ISBN13: 9798246891568
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 182 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"