Gray Dawn

Gray Dawn: The Case of the Foolproof Fratricide is a murder mystery novella by R.L. Akers and the seventh book in the Files of Gray Gaynes series, scheduled for publication on March 27, 2026.

This story is the first to be set entirely outside New York City. It takes place seven years after the events of Fade to Gray in North Slope Borough, Alaska, where a retired Gray Gaynes now works as an oil field roughneck. For the first time, he will find himself building a case to exonerate (rather than convict) an accused murderer.

Artwork

As with each Gray Gaynes installment, the chapter numbering within Gray Dawn is unique. In this case, numbers are displayed using Kaktovik numerals, a base-20 system created by Alaskan Iñupiat (the ethnicity of several new characters in this installment).

Back Cover Blurb

ONE MAN'S NEW BEGINNING. ANOTHER MAN'S BRUTAL END.

When human remains are discovered in the belly of a dead bear on Alaska's North Slope, everyone assumes the victim ran afoul of nature. Then facts start falling into place, leaving one logical conclusion: the victim's own sister murdered him long before that bear came sniffing.

But one man doesn't buy it -- a former homicide detective now trying to keep his head down as an oil field roughneck. Despite the clear picture painted by ballistics, fingerprints, and DNA evidence, his gut tells him this woman was framed. But that's hardly his problem, right?

Set in an world devoid of sunlight, where a cup of water will freeze in moments and the wildlife might kill you even faster, a broken man must decide how much he'll risk to protect the innocent. His livelihood? His reputation? His very life?

Meet the new Gray Gaynes: Once a respected investigator, now a pariah in the law enforcement community. Still suffering from his own unique mix of neurological conditions, he's trying to make a fresh start far from the place and profession he once loved. Unfortunately, not even the remotest corner of the globe is immune to conspiracy and murder...