TJ Buck’s fourth novel, A Terrible Thing, is being released Monday, Sept. 2.

The local author will hold two book signings in the area in the weeks following the book’s release.

The first book signing will take place at the Off The Beaten Path bookstore in Lakewood, on Saturday, Sept. 7, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

A second book signing will take place at the Falconer Farmer’s Market, 100 W. Main St. on Tuesday, Sept. 17, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“A Terrible Thing” is the sequel to Buck’s third novel, “Of Bloody Deeds And Death”, copies of which will be available along with the new novel at both book signings. It is the continuing saga of rural law enforcement officers, who along with their fellow cops, families, and friends, must come to terms with revelations of the past and the consequences of choices made then and now in their ongoing efforts to rid their rural county of a generations-old criminal gang and it’s enablers in local law enforcement.

“After I finished Of Bloody Deeds And Death, I kept thinking about the characters and the story. I felt there was enough strength in the characters and more of a story after the events which ended “Of Bloody Deeds And Death” to justify a sequel,” Buck said of the new novel.

“I guess that turned out to be true since the new novel ended up being 500-plus pages, which surprised me. I wouldn’t have guessed when I started Bloody Deeds, it and the sequel would end up being combined nearly 1,200 pages, but I think, or at least, hope, readers will agree the story deserved it.”

Buck is a Jamestown native and Falconer High School graduate who spent more than 20 years as an award-winning journalist for various newspapers across New York state and in Arizona before returning to his hometown to write fiction full-time.

His first two novels, The Great Twitch and Isn’t It Pretty To Think So? are available at bookstores and online.