NEW RELEASE!

THE VALHALLA

PROJECT

He found a body. They found their scapegoat.

When David Jacobs, a nineteen-year-old autistic man, is walking his dog in Pelham Bay Park, they discover a woman’s body. Within days, the young accounting protege is accused of murder, pressured into a confession, and sentenced to prison. Enter former NYPD detective-turned-private investigator Dan Burnett. When Dan begins asking questions, he discovers the victim was a prominent environmental attorney battling a billion-dollar data center project in suburban New York. When Dan digs deeper, he uncovers a web of corruption hidden behind promises of economic growth, secret financial deals, and powerful men determined to protect their interests at any cost. As the pressure mounts, Dan must uncover the truth before an innocent man spends years behind bars—and before a killer silences anyone else who gets too close.

Fans of taut, socially urgent thrillers with clear moral stakes will find plenty to appreciate!—The Prairies book review

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Larry Terhaar

THE EARLY REVIEWS ARE IN!

  • "A timely, tightly wound thriller of disappearance and power.  In this urgent political thriller, Terhaar explores what happens when due process disappears. Detained despite her lawful status, Ariana Wilkinson is quietly transferred out of reach, leaving her husband, Colonel Joseph Wilkinson, to search for answers. When former NYPD detective Dan Burnett joins the hunt, the question becomes unavoidable: who decides when due process no longer applies? A political thriller at heart, it favors urgency over subtlety and feels disturbingly close to the present moment. Fans of taut, socially urgent thrillers with clear moral stakes will find plenty to appreciate."

    — The Prairies Book Review

  • "Tracking Ariana opens with a quiet spring afternoon that turns into a nightmare. Ariana Wilkinson, a young Afghan immigrant and mother of two, is swept up with other families by ICE, despite carrying legal documentation. Her husband Joe, a newly retired Air Force colonel returning from deployment, arrives home to find his wife and children missing, sparking a desperate search. Meanwhile, attorney Seth Bodner and private investigator Dan Burnett begin uncovering the political machinery and secrecy behind the detentions. The story moves quickly, shifting between Ariana’s terror, Joe’s rising panic, and the investigative puzzle unfolding around them. ..." (continued on next slide) →

    — Literary Titan Book Reviews
    Rating: 5 of 5

  • (continued from previous slide) "... The chapters move fast, and the scenes stack tension one on top of the next, with anger simmering under the surface. Watching Seth and Dan pull together scraps of information while the government stonewalls them made me feel both frustrated and invested. As the pace continues to rise, even the quieter scenes carry tension because the stakes never let up. If you enjoy thrillers rooted in family, justice, and real-world tension, this book is a strong pick, especially for readers who like stories that weave personal stakes with political complications."

    — Literary Titan Book Reviews
    Rating: 5 of 5

  • "Tracking Ariana is a heart-pounding legal thriller where one woman’s freedom becomes the ultimate test of a nation’s conscience. It’s my pick for the most relevant and timely novel of the new year!"

    — CT Reader

THE EARLY REVIEWS ARE IN!

  • "The Valhalla Project is a fast-moving mystery thriller that begins when nineteen-year-old David Jacobs and his dog discover a woman’s body in Pelham Bay Park. David is autistic, deeply attached to routine, and poorly equipped to handle aggressive questioning, which makes him an easy target for investigators eager to close the case. After he’s rushed into a manslaughter plea, private investigator Dan Burnett and attorney Seth Bodner begin looking into the evidence. Their work leads from a suspicious murder investigation to a proposed data center in Valhalla, New York, where corporate ambition, environmental concerns, bribery, and political pressure are tightly connected."

    — Thomas Anderson — Editor in Chief, Literary Titan

  • "Filled with action, excitement, and developments tempered by a better understanding of the autistic spirit, The Valhalla Project provides just the ticket for an engaging, thought-provoking story."

    — Diane Donovan — Editor, Bookwatch

  • "Data centers are the bad guys in every type of media today. When a young autistic man discovers a body, he reports it and promptly becomes the prime suspect. He's convicted and sent to prison with no one to speak for him. But some people believe he was rushed to trial and did not understand what was happening. An attorney and a private investigator will team up to follow the clues and investigate on their own. When the trail leads back to a data center project....yep, there it is....they will find a group of people who will kill to protect their project. This backstory left me confused and outraged, much the point the author was trying to make. Larry Terhaar knows how to stir up emotions and point the outrage in the right direction. The story advances quickly as the good guys become targets. Do they save the young man in prison? You'll have to read and find out for yourself."

    — DL — NetGalley

SNEAK PREVIEW

Read the first couple of chapters here:

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AUTHOR

Larry Terhaar

LARRY TERHAAR

Larry Terhaar is the multiple award-winning author of the Dan Burnett mystery series, including the bestselling novel Tracking Ariana. His fiction combines suspense, legal intrigue, and compelling characters drawn from real-world issues and contemporary events.

After a rewarding career in real estate development, Larry and his wife, along with their Australian Shepherd, spent over a decade sailing throughout the Western Atlantic and Caribbean, from Maine to Grenada, living aboard most of the time.

In 2024, Larry was inspired to write about the tragedy in Surfside, FL, when the Champlain Towers collapsed, resulting in his first novel, Oceanside. Having reignited a childhood passion for writing, he has since followed up with five private detective novels, the genre he’s always enjoyed reading.

He divides his time between Connecticut and Florida and is currently at work on his next novel. 

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