The Ledger of Lost Things: In a forest that grows in reverse, a dangerous lie is the only thing standing between a village's survival and the dark.

Beneath the village of Thornwich, the roots of the world grow backward into the sky.

Deep below the earth lies the Understory—a vast, sentient forest of upside-down trees that emits a soft, upward-filtering amber light. For generations, the village has lived in fragile harmony with the buried canopy, relying on gifted 'Tenders' to sing the roots to sleep and perform the daily rituals that keep the magic at bay. But the legendary Elara Finch is dead, and her daughter, Fiona, has inherited a mantle she cannot carry.

Fiona is a fraud. Lacking her mother's intuitive magic, she survives by rigidly memorizing textbooks, terrified that the village will discover her secret. But when the amber columns of light begin to pulse with an aggressive, hostile rhythm, and irreplaceable family heirlooms vanish from locked homes, textbook rituals are no longer enough. The forest's ancient 'long memory' is awakening, and it is demanding a reckoning.

Thrust into the center of a terrifying magical crisis, Fiona is handed the massive Inquiry Book and tasked with solving the mystery. With the trust of four hundred souls resting on her shoulders and the dark earth threatening to swallow the town whole, Fiona must uncover the truth behind the stolen artifacts before the covenant shatters completely. If she fails, Thornwich will fall—and the Understory will reclaim its territory.

Immersive, atmospheric, and thick with mounting dread, The Ledger of Lost Things is the breathtaking first chapter in Joseph Pepe's dark fantasy epic, The Understory Inquiries. Step into the shadows. The light is changing, and the forest is waiting.