A Ryan Cole Novel: Book One
by Garren L Vanderpool
Inspired by the 1951 radio drama Night Beat: “Sanctuary,” this modern noir thriller follows Chicago reporter Ryan Cole as a gas leak explosion pulls him into a web of buried corruption, moral compromise, and quiet acts of grace.
In a city where every truth costs something, Cole must decide how much of himself he’s willing to burn to expose the rest.
“Sanctuary: A Ryan Cole Novel” blends the atmosphere of classic noir with the urgency of contemporary journalism—a haunting story about guilt, redemption, and the price of telling the truth.
Ryan smelled it before he heard anything—the faint metallic bite of gas threading through the stairwell like a warning whispered too late. Then the hallway lights flickered, once, twice, and died.
Holt’s silhouette froze beside him. “Tell me that’s the building settling.”
Ryan shook his head. “No. Someone already knew this place was about to blow.”
And then a door above them creaked open, slow as a confession. A shape stood in the darkness—watching them, unmoving—before the whole building exhaled in a low, awful tremor.
Holt grabbed his arm. “We need to run—now.”
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Inspired by the 1951 radio drama Night Beat: “Sanctuary.”
“Sanctuary: A Ryan Cole Novel” resurrects the moral tension of the classic Night Beat episode, transforming its plea for grace into a modern descent through faith, guilt, and the price of truth.
Some sanctuaries burn. Others save. This one might do both.
