In Strange Woods
Gothic gay romance in the stormy coastal woods of the Pacific Northwest.
Reeling with grief after the mysterious massacre of his wealthy family, moody New York photographer James Worthington Crane decides to take his downward spiral to the rural Oregon Coast, where he’s just inherited a piece of property hidden somewhere in the woods upriver. But when James pulls into the decaying seaside town of Brooks, everyone thinks he’s someone else—an elusive local outlaw named Beau. Now James must fight through his grief to unravel a dark web of family secrets and forgotten history...with help from a soft-spoken local contractor named Hunter Quaid.
Hunter’s been on his own since he left his fundamentalist family at the age of fifteen. It’s taken years of hard work to build the simple life he has now, fixing up seaside houses while living alone by the river. Then James blows in like a winter storm, disturbing the peace and stirring up dreams he thought he'd given up. As their lives and histories intertwine in unexpected ways, they start to discover what it really means to know where you belong.
From the author of Merrick, Spooky Smutty Stories, and Hidden Talents comes a steamy, tender romance inspired by the rugged beauty and offbeat history of Pacific Northwest timber country. In Strange Woods moves through ancient old-growth forests, abandoned logging roads, ramshackle seaside towns, decaying homesteads, coastal highways, and the stories hidden in the trees.
Editorial Reviews
I was dragged into the forest by this story and lost among the trees until the very last word. … In Strange Woods was a mystery and a thriller and a romance all woven together in a stunningly well written story.
—Wine Drunk Reviews
A really well-written hurt/comfort mystery story that provides a well-deserved happy ending.
—Love Bytes
Claire Cray’s In Strange Woods is refreshingly different, with characters who are real, but at the same time straight from our fantasies. Most of all for me, it is fantastic how it utterly transforms soul-sucking devastation to a new beginning, full of love, promise and joy.
—Kimmers Erotic Book Banter
Enthusiastically recommended.
—Boy Meets Boy Reviews
The book feels both special and unusual and the characters are real and raw and flawed — and wonderfully relatable. The writing borrows from the Gothic tradition; the descriptions of coastal Oregon are dark and eerie and there is a fabulous sense of claustrophobia despite the immense open spaces.
—Wicked Reads
In Strange Woods has exactly what I love in a book — a bit of everything. Offering suspense, surprising reveals, a quiet romance with undeniable chemistry, great characters, poignant moments, and some heartbreak, this story completely ensnared me.
—Bayou Book Junkie
I was hooked from the start, and both James and Hunter’s characters were so easy to become attached to with every page read … and don’t even get me started on their incredible chemistry physically. It will have you rooting for them to stay together permanently just like I was.
—Making it Happen
This intriguing adult gothic gay story has interesting twists that keep one turning the pages, and beautiful imagery that immerses one in the unique area of the Northwest ... an eerie and entertaining read.
—The Reading Addict
Extras
Content Warnings
Mental Health
Grief, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation: James is struggling with his mental health after losing his family. In Chapter 1, he briefly mentions that he’s had suicidal thoughts. Another character has lost a relative to suicide.
Substance Use
Alcohol: When the story begins, James is abusing alcohol heavily. Two drinking binges occur on page in Chapter 1 and Chapter 9. James acknowledges the problem and drinks gradually less as the story progresses. (Milder instances of social drinking involving other characters appear in Chapters 5, 20, and 26.)
Prescription pills: James mentions having taken Xanax in Chapter 1, and in Chapter 10 briefly references having been “pilled up” at one point in the weeks following his loss.
Cannabis: This story is set in Oregon, where the medicinal and recreational use of cannabis is legal and widely practiced. James and Hunter casually smoke cannabis in Chapters 5, 20, and 25.
Heroin: A character flashes back to a time when he once smoked heroin as a teenager, was harshly reprimanded by a relative, and never did it again.
Violence/Abuse
Murder: James’s family was violently murdered in a home invasion. The murder methods are explained, though not in graphic detail.
Sexual abuse: Hunter briefly references allegations of sexual abuse within the fundamentalist church to which his estranged family belongs.
If you read this book and felt these warnings were inadequate, please reach out.