The Long Way Down

Las Vegas has no shortage of sharks, but Daniel Faust swims in deeper waters than most. A sorcerer-for-hire with a criminal past, he navigates a city where the real dangers hide beneath the neon — crooked power players, supernatural predators, and deals that have a way of costing more than advertised. When a seemingly straightforward job of seeking justice for a murdered young woman pulls him into something far older and stranger, Faust finds himself caught between human corruption and forces that don't operate by human rules. The stakes keep rising, and walking away stops being an option.

Schaefer writes Las Vegas crime fiction with a dark fantasy engine underneath, and the combination lands harder than either genre would alone. The prose is lean and fast without being shallow — Faust's first-person voice carries genuine wit and moral weight, grounding the supernatural elements in something that feels lived-in and real. The world-building unfolds through action rather than exposition, trusting readers to keep up. What distinguishes this opener is how confidently it establishes its mythology while still delivering a tight, propulsive crime story that stands on its own.