Pines

Killed Laura Palmer?
held America transfixed. I was twelve at the time, and I will never forget the feeling that took hold of me as I watched this quirky show about a creepy town with damn fine coffee and brilliant cherry pie, where nothing was as it seemed.
    Twin Peaks
was ultimately canceled, the brilliant director and actors went on to do other things, but the undeniable magic present in those early episodes still haunts me two decades later. Shows like
Northern Exposure
,
Picket Fences, The X-Files,
and
Lost
occasionally veered into that eerily beautiful creepiness that defined
Twin Peaks
, but for the most part, for this fan at least, nothing else has ever come close.
    They say all art—whether books, music, or visual—is a reaction to other art, and I believe that to be true. As good as
Twin Peaks
was, the nature of the show, in particular how abruptly and prematurely it ended, left me massively unsatisfied. Shortly after the show was cancelled, I was so heartbroken I even tried to write its mythical third season, not for anyone but myself, just so I could continue the experience.
    That effort failed, as did numerous other attempts as I matured, both as a person and a writer, to recapture the feeling my twelve-year-old self had experienced back in 1990.
    Pines
is the culmination of my efforts, now spanning twenty years, to create something that makes me feel theway
Twin Peaks
did. In no way am I suggesting that
Pines
is as good as Lynch’s masterpiece, or even something that is likely to take
you
back to the feeling of that series. The show was so utterly its own thing that any attempt to recreate its aura would be inherently doomed to fail. But I feel the need to express how much
Pines
is inspired by Lynch’s creation of a small town in the middle of nowhere—beautiful on the outside, but with a pitch-black underbelly.
    Pines
would never have come about, and I may never have become a writer, if my parents hadn’t let me stay up late on Thursday nights, that spring of 1990, to watch a show the likes of which we will never see again.
    So thanks, Mom and Dad. Thanks, Mr. Lynch and Mr. Frost. And, of course, the inimitable Agent Dale Cooper.
    Pines
is not
Twin Peaks
, not by a long shot, but it wouldn’t be here without it.
    I hope you enjoyed my show.
    Blake Crouch
    Durango, Colorado
    August 2012

BLAKE CROUCH’S OTHER WORKS
    Andrew Z. Thomas Series
Desert Places
Locked Doors
Break You
Thicker Than Blood
(The Complete Series)
Stirred
with J. A. Konrath
    Other Works
Eerie
Run
Draculas
with J.A. Konrath, Jeff Strand, and F. Paul Wilson
Famous
Abandon
Snowbound
Serial
with Jack Kilborn
“Bad Girl” (short story)
Serial Uncut
with J.A. Konrath and Jack Kilborn
Killers
with Jack Kilborn
Birds of Prey
with Jack Kilborn and J. A. Konrath
Killers Uncut
with Jack Kilborn and J. A. Konrath
Serial Killers Uncut
with Jack Kilborn and J. A. Konrath
“*69” (short story)
“Remaking” (short story)
“On the Good, Red Road” (short story)
“Shining Rock” (short story)
“The Meteorologist” (short story)
“Unconditional” (short story)
“Hunting Season” (short story with Selena Kitt)
Perfect Little Town
(horror novella)
The Pain of Others
(novella)
Four Live Rounds
(collected stories)
Six in the Cylinder
(collected stories)
Fully Loaded
(complete collected stories)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    My agent, David Hale Smith, and everyone at Thomas & Mercer has given 110 percent to help get this book off the ground. It is a privilege to know and work with such a tremendously talented group of people who are changing the way we read for the better.
    A heartfelt thanks to Andy Bartlett, Jacque Ben-Zekry, Rory Connell, Vicky Griffith, Mia Lipman, Paul Diamond, Amy Bates, Jeff Belle, Daphne Durham, Jon Fine, Alex Carr, Philip Patrick, Alan Turkus, Sarah Gelman, Jodi Warshaw, and Leslie LaRue, and finally a shout-out to my KDPeeps—Brian Mitchell, Brian Carver, and Nader Kabbani.
    I am incredibly fortunate to count as friends some fantastic writers and wildly astute readers. These folks gave amazing feedback on early drafts of
Pines
and made the book better in every conceivable way. So many thanks to my writing partner, Joe Konrath, Maria Konrath, my brother, Jordan Crouch, my terrific cover artist, Jeroen ten Berge, Ann Voss Peterson, Suzanne Tyrpak, Selena Kitt, and Marcus Sakey. A special thanks to Barry Eisler for a particularly adroit read.
    Finally, hugs and kisses to my dear family—Rebecca, Aidan, and Annslee.