“Deer saints, darkness and the strangeness of family ties; Wagner effortlessly mixes football and folk horror in this terrifying new novel.” —Angela Slatter, award-winning author of The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings

“The Deer Kings is a grand, gorgeous, and—at times—gory wonder.” —Gordon B. White, author of As Summer’s Mask Slips and Other Disruptions and Rookfield

In 1989, Gary Sheldon and his friends created their own saint.

In 2018, they discover it’s become a god.

Gary thought he’d escaped Kingston, Oregon, the town where his parents died and where, one tragic summer, he and a group of outcast teens turned to the supernatural to protect themselves from a deranged drug dealer. But when his wife lands her dream job as a high school principal, he is forced to return to his hometown.

As Gary reconnects with old friends and his son thrives on the football team, the past feels like a distant memory. But unsettling encounters and mutilated animals in the woods reveal that the Deer Saint is still at work. Now Gary must look into his past to find answers: Who is making sacrifices to the Deer Saint? And what do they want with his family?