The Takings

Psychological Thriller/Suspense
In the murky swamps of central Florida, a boy is stolen on his way home one night.
No one heard his screams.
No one saw him struggle.
And the police have no answers.
Can one man's visions reveal the truth?
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"Will enmeshes the central Florida swamp setting into the plot like a secondary character." --Amazon Reviewer

"What a thrilling book! I was hanging on every page. Could not put it down. Simply brilliant and what an ending" --Amazon Reviewer

Podcast (note: cover has been updated since podcast)

About the Book

From international award-winning author, Sandie Will, comes a psychological thriller that dives into the depths of a man's struggle with the events of the present that are conjuring up the pain from his past.

At age fifteen, Adrian Webster lost his younger brother in a tragic accident. He tried to mourn. He tried to move on. But all he could do was bury the pain.

Ten years later, his best friend’s son, Wyatt, vanishes while riding his bike through Green Swamp in Central Florida. Adrian's friend has already lost his wife, and he doesn’t want him to suffer the pain of losing a child, making Adrian obsess over finding Wyatt. So obsessed that he’s plagued by visions. Ones that creep into the corners of his eyes. Ones that reveal the truth. And ones that force Adrian to choose between his friendship and unleashing the memories of the past before Wyatt is gone forever and Adrian loses the one thing he loves most in life—his new family.

Readers are already saying: "A riveting page-turner!" "I couldn't stop reading!" "This book kept me on the edge of my seat!"

Book Trailer

Editorial Review

Reviewed by Shannon Winings for Readers' Favorite
Florida swamps are home to horrific nightmares where someone is chasing you and you just can't get away from the dark figure following you. Yet, these types of nightmares become real when young Wyatt disappears from the Green Swamp on his way home. Jeremy Corringer has already lost his wife and cannot possibly bear to lose his beautiful child. His friend, Adrian Webster, feels for him and wants to help. He is no stranger to tragedy as he lost his own brother ten years ago and still wrestles with the aftershock to this day. Adrian doesn't want his friend to suffer and the only way to do that is to find Wyatt before time runs out. Soon, Adrian is plagued with "visions" that may just be the key to finding the young boy and restoring his own life.

The Takings by Sandie Will immediately pulled me into the story. It was mysterious, dark, and suspenseful to the very end. The author was also extremely talented at writing descriptive, vivid imagery that put me in the book with the characters. At times, I felt trapped in the swamp and Adrian's visions as well. In addition, I also felt some sort of sympathy and empathy for the villain. I was so conflicted as you clearly should root for good over evil but sometimes you can't help feeling a bit too much when you come across some great writing. The Takings by Sandie Will is definitely a great mystery to read on your vacation this year.

The Caging at Deadwater Manor

Upper Young Adult Psychological Thriller/Suspense
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On a cold, January evening, fourteen-year-old Jeannie Kynde is told that her beloved mother drowned in the murky waters along Florida's Gulf Coast. Her distraught father turns on Jeannie, no longer the caring father she once knew. Four years later, Jeannie is finally old enough to escape her father's clutches, but he has different plans. He imprisons her at Deadwater Manor, a psychiatric hospital with an unscrupulous past. Between endless psychiatric treatments and a hospital staff up to no good, Jeannie faces insurmountable odds as each day ticks away. Will she be locked away forever? Or can she fight against the nightmare that has now become her world?

Trailer

BACKGROUND:

The inspiration for the story came from Sandie's beloved father who worked in various psychiatric hospitals during short periods of his career. In the attic of one such hospital, he made a disturbing discovery - one that bothered Sandie so much, she had to create a story around it. Though fiction, many parts of the book intertwine the patient routines, treatments and outbursts that she learned from her father and other research in a way that makes the story vivid through Jeannie's perspective.
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"This is a polished independent novel that skillfully blends coming-of-age, mystery, and suspense genre elements. The pacing is excellent and well-wrought, drawing the reader along to share in Jean's terror, frustration, and helplessness, as well as her hope and resolve to escape." C. Cameron, Amazon Customer
Winner of the
2018 Royal Palm Literary Award Florida Writers Association 
Young Adult/New Adult Fiction
Winner of the 2017 Readers' Favorite Honorable Mention International Book Award and Five-Star Reader Review for Young Adult Horror
#1 Amazon Hot New Release - 2017
"Five Stars! Absolutely the best book I have read this year. It was hard to put the kindle down." Amazon Customer

Time Lands - The Hunger (Pending Release)
Middle-Grade Historical Time Travel Series - Book 1

Eighteen-year-old Carly Matthews is hating her new life in Florida until she becomes intrigued with a mirror that takes her on journeys to the past and opens adventures into another world.  Her first encounter is nineteen-year-old, Liam Healy, a handsome Irishman who's barely surviving the Great Irish Hunger.  Can she save him from his past?
Artwork by Sandie Will. @2016 Sandie Will - All Rights Reserved

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Sandie Will is an award-winning and best selling psychological thriller novelist who lives in Tampa Bay, Florida and works as a geologist by day. She has published two novels. Her first novel, The Caging at Deadwater Manor, is a young adult psychological thriller/horror that hit Amazon's #1 Bestsellers List and #1 Hot New Releases List. This novel received first place in the 2018 Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards for young adult/new adult fiction and an honorable mention in the 2017 Readers' Favorite Book Awards for young adult horror. Her second novel, The Takings, is an adult psychological thriller that was recently released and hit Amazon's bestsellers list and was a Finalist in the 2020 Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards. Her third novel, The Replacings, will be published in September 2021, and is a stand-alone continuation of The Takings. She has been married to her husband, Charlie, for over 30 years and they have two sons. Her favorite place to write is in her back room "treehouse" in the arms of an old oak.

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