At a glance, Acheron, Vermont contains all the people you expect to meet in an average New England college town. The bumbling, corrupt Sheriff Blivet, and his son Purvis, a junior paranormal investigator. Wilbur Englander, an alcoholic cinephile with a tragic past, and transfer student Denise, his mysterious and bewitching niece. And of course, local real estate magnate Jeremiah Castle, and his much younger, and far more ruthless wife, Jo. They all have secrets, and who better to compile them than Henry Hoffmann, blackmailer, tour guide, and adviser to Mr. Castle. In these capacities, Henry enjoys unlimited power and influence over the citizens of Acheron, until several strange events the week before Halloween put him at the mercy of the very people it is his job to control. The Moment Before an Injury is a novel of amoral ghosts, stolen dogs, creative revenge, petty criminality, vocational ennui, and the fragile politics of absolute power in a small town