Burial Ground

by Michael McBride

(2011)

Publisher: Delirium Books

When the body of Hunter Gearhardt washes up on the banks of a seasonal river outside of Pomacochas, Peru, with only samples of vegetation, a handful of feathers, two black- and gray-streaked rocks, and a golden headdress of indeterminate origin in his possession, his grieving father launches an expedition to determine how his son died.

The party uses these clues to divine Hunter’s route into the jungle, where they find a surviving offshoot of a primitive tribe, long thought to be extinct, and something far more sinister, something that’s been able to avoid discovery for eons for one simple reason: No one leaves the rainforest alive.

After a wealthy tycoon learns his son has died under mysterious circumstances in South America, he leads a recon team of scientists and mercenaries into the jungle for answers, guided by the bush pilot that found his son’s corpse and the golden crown in his possession.

Suspicion on all sides over who knows how much weighs heavy as they venture into the wild, but their own little quibbles are quickly outweighed as it becomes all too apparent that there is a tribe in the jungle, one that has until now gone undiscovered, and the team finds themselves in a race for answers as well for their lives.