Noah Kayne: Brotherhood of the Sun Dragon
By David Edward
Private investigator Wade Clay accepts what seems like a simple courier job in 1975 Florida, only to find himself trapped between the Miami mob and a resurgent death cult led by a disgraced anthropology professor. As memories of a violent past he can't quite remember begin surfacing, Wade must confront the Brotherhood of the Sun Dragon before they complete their apocalyptic ritual in the Everglades.
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OverviewWade Clay runs a beachfront ice cream store in the Florida Keys, but his real business involves solving problems that others can't or won't touch. When a mob wife hires him to deliver divorce papers, the simple job spirals into a nightmare involving multiple murders, a stolen fortune, and the return of the Brotherhood of the Sun Dragon - a cannibalistic cult Wade thought he'd helped destroy four years earlier. The cult's leader, known as The Seer, remembers Wade by a different name and has special plans for him. As Wade investigates with his friend Sheriff Buford Jenkins, disturbing patterns emerge. The cult has infiltrated Miami's criminal underworld, orchestrating a coordinated strike against their enemies while pursuing their own dark agenda in the Everglades. Wade's fragmented memories of their first confrontation in 1971 begin returning, revealing connections between himself, his missing partner Noah Kayne, and The Seer that run deeper than he imagined. Each recovered memory brings Wade closer to a truth his mind has been protecting him from - a truth about what really happened when the Brotherhood first came for Noah's land. Racing against time with his massive collie Tank at his side, Wade must navigate between FBI raids, mob territory, and the supernatural-tinged rituals of the Brotherhood. The cult has taken people Wade cares about, forcing him to witness horrors that will either break him or transform him into something harder. In the humid darkness of the Everglades, where ancient Mayan ruins hide fabricated secrets and painted alligators serve as avatars for imaginary gods, Wade must decide whether to embrace the violence within himself or risk losing everything to The Seer's twisted vision of ascension. |
Questions this book answers
- Why does Wade Clay struggle to remember crucial events from just four years ago?
- What connection exists between Noah Kayne and the cult leader known as The Seer?
- How did a disgraced anthropology professor transform into the leader of a cannibalistic death cult?
- What role do the fabricated Mayan ruins in the Everglades play in the Brotherhood's beliefs?
- Why does The Seer insist on calling Wade by the name Jim?
- How far will Wade go to protect the people he cares about from the Brotherhood's rituals?
- What price must Wade pay to finally end the threat of the Sun Dragon cult?
Selected quotes
"The right way to do things is always the right way to do things."
"We are in service to these divine beings because they represent the authentic voice of reality, of ultimate power. These gods are not mere figments of my imagination, Jim. They exist with as much certainty as you and I."
"If we let others intimidate us just because they are bigger than us, there eventually won't be any home to go to. They will take it like they took your lunch money."
Why it matters
This psychological thriller explores how trauma shapes identity and memory while delivering a visceral story about confronting evil in its most depraved forms. Set against the atmospheric backdrop of 1970s Florida, it captures a pivotal moment when organized crime, cult violence, and personal vengeance collide in the American South. Readers who skip this book miss experiencing one of the most haunting depictions of how ordinary people respond when civilization's thin veneer is stripped away. The novel's examination of repressed memory, moral compromise, and the price of justice resonates particularly in an era grappling with conspiracy theories and extremist movements.