What the Tunnels Took

About this book

In the decaying rust-belt city of Millford, the abandoned industrial wastewater tunnels hold the brutal secrets of two generations. In 1995, Thomas Reed, a 27-year-old underdog protagonist wrongly scapegoated for a fatal chemical spill, flees underground to protect his family. There, his fight for survival morphs into moral compromise as he becomes entangled in a raw, toxic dependency with Marlene, a ruthless smuggler. Decades later in 2023, Lila Reed, Thomas's 28-year-old daughter and a parallel underdog battling addiction and a bitter custody dispute, ventures into the same claustrophobic depths searching for the truth about the father she believed was dead. As Lila navigates a present-day underworld of fentanyl trafficking and aging survivors, the narrative strictly alternates between their timelines. Thomas's 1995 decisions—culminating in a violent territorial war and a devastating choice to hide a toxic water contamination—ripple directly into Lila's 2023 reality. Both must confront the literal and emotional stench of human waste, the crushing weight of their choices, and the ultimate price of escaping the darkness.

Book details

Genres:

Drama, Psychological Fiction, Family Saga

Language:

en

Published:

2026-06-17

Content rating:

R