A strong sequel does more than continue a story; it makes readers look back at the first book and realize just how carefully the next chapter was prepared. That is exactly what Dutch Haid achieves with The Bitch Farm, a dark crime thriller whose closing developments lead directly into the forthcoming The Deed.
Published in 2024, The Bitch Farm introduces readers to James Alfred Zachary, the owner of Time Everlasting Cemetery in Florida. James may appear outwardly successful, but his inner world is far more complicated. His personality is intertwined with Zac and Jessie, two distinct identities that shape his emotions, relationships and increasingly violent behavior. The novel presents Zac as a protector and avenger, while Jessie develops as a personality more closely connected to affection and companionship.
This psychological conflict becomes one of the foundations of the entire saga.
The novel’s title also carries a grim significance. James uses a secluded section of cemetery property as the place he privately calls the “Bitch Farm,” connecting the land to his violent history and the concealed remains of victims. But Haid does not tell the story solely from the killer’s perspective. Running alongside James’s world is an increasingly determined criminal investigation.
FBI Special Agent Brad Ashley becomes personally connected to that investigation after his sister, Gwendolyn, disappears. Her home reveals disturbing signs that something violent has occurred, turning Brad’s concern into a deeply personal search for answers.
Brad eventually works alongside FBI Special Agent Jack Baird, Detective Sue Gunther and other members of a dedicated task force. Their investigation begins by identifying recurring clues and crime-scene patterns, gradually drawing attention toward someone connected with funerals and cemetery work. Yet suspicion is not the same as proof and that distinction becomes crucial.
Near the end of The Bitch Farm, the task force focuses increasingly on James Zachary. Sue Gunther outlines why he fits many elements of their developing profile, but investigators still lack the hard evidence needed to legally pursue him. Complicating matters further, Zachary has sold the cemetery and disappeared.
Then comes the development that transforms the ending into the beginning of something much larger.
Authorities in Slidell, Louisiana, contact the Florida investigators about a missing woman whose home contains unsettling similarities to the earlier cases: stripped bedding, strategically arranged objects, the smell of bleach and alcohol and the word “BITCH” written in blood.
That moment effectively opens the door to The Deed.
In the upcoming novel, readers discover that James has not simply disappeared. He has been transformed into Hershel Liam Daquin, supported by plastic surgery, counterfeit identification and a new life in Louisiana. Hershel hopes that changing his appearance and circumstances will create a genuine fresh start, but Jessie and Zac remain present within his psychological world.
Meanwhile, the investigators refuse to let the trail die.
The Deed expands the pursuit beyond Florida and Louisiana, following new identities, new locations and an increasingly mobile suspect. By the later stages of the story, the investigation stretches along the East Coast as authorities struggle to determine where their target will surface next.
That is what makes The Bitch Farm essential groundwork for The Deed. It establishes the killer, the investigators, the psychological conflict and the unanswered questions that make the sequel matter.
The Bitch Farm is available now and The Deed is coming soon, continuing a hunt that was never truly over.
