BENEATH TREES WHERE NOBODY SEES (2023)

Don’t. Murder. The locals.This is small-town serial killer, upstanding citizen, and adorable brown bear Samantha Strong’s cardinal rule. After all, there’s a sea of perfectly ripe potential victims in the big city just beyond the forest, and when you’ve worked as hard as Sam to build a cozy life and a thriving business in a community surrounded by friendly fellow animal folk, warm décor, and the aroma of cedar trees and freshly baked apple pie…the last thing you want is to disturb the peace.So you can imagine her indignation when one of Woodbrook’s own meets a grisly, mysterious demise—and you wouldn’t blame her for doing anything it takes to hunt down her rival before the town self-destructs and Sheriff Patterson starts (literally) barking up the wrong tree.Live, laugh, shed blood. “Dexter” meets Richard Scarry’s Busy Town in writer-artist Patrick Horvath’s twisted debut of BENEATH THE TREES WHERE NOBODY SEES!

Horrified to learn that she's not the only serial killer in Woodbrook-and insulted, frankly, by the rookie's flare for the dramatic-Samantha hits the pavement to silence the competition before they ruin her quiet, perfectly curated life. But the insufferable latte-chugging local busybody Cherry Gherkins is poisoning the town with her own theories about the murder, and things are about to get messy. Grab a cup of cocoa and curl up with the second chapter of Patrick Horvath's twisted tale of a cozy animal community in crisis!

As Woodbrook quakes in terror, the killer runs freeThe town now plans a funeral, instead of festivity Sam has her suspicions, she’ll follow her hunchShe better act fast, or more bones might go crunchBut Sam isn’t afraid, she knows she’ll solve the case Because the killer doesn’t know it, but they left a trace

"So now the stage is set, and Sam has ID'd her foe   But this town's not big enough for both, so one of them must go  But first, there's a meeting, where they'll come face-to-face  If they can't work it out, there will be a gruesome race  But it's not quite that simple, and for once, Sam is scared  This foe knows quite a bit about her, and the things of which she cares"

Sam's foe was quick and mighty cleverNow Sam must skip town, maybe forever. The town doesn't trust her, they think she's the one. So Sam's on her own, and alone she must run. But maybe, just maybe, she'll learn in the wild. And return to that town, to face the devil child.

In Woodbrook's darkest days, many have diedThe townsfolk have trembled, shivered, and cried  A horrific plan drives the fate of our bearAnd unspeakable actions will give quite a scareJoin us now, as we finally lift the veil As this, my friends, is the end of our tale