The Penumbra Files
Cover of The Penumbra Files, Part 1: Believing Trees by Matt Belcher: a glowing human figure caught in a web of blue lines against a starfield
File 01 Status: Declassified

Believing Trees

The Penumbra Files · Book 1

Twenty-five years ago, an SAS patrol found something on a remote Bosnian plateau that no one was ever meant to see. Cameron Hayes was there. He just doesn't remember it.

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Book 1 · Believing Trees

The man who forgot

Cameron Hayes has a tumor in his brain and a cocktail in his hand, and retirement in San Diego is as quiet as he ever wanted. Until his closest friend is shot dead in front of him, the killers turn their sights on Cameron, and a woman he has never met tells him she knows exactly who he is.

She says he once served with Trident, a covert program guarding the oldest secret on Earth: ancient, sentient Trees that have hidden since the planet was born, and the rare bloodline that can wake the power inside them. Now a rogue scientist has gone looking for that power. And the one man who might stop him is running out of time, and out of memories.

From the beaches of San Diego to the frozen edge of Iceland, Believing Trees is a relentless blend of military thriller and mind-bending science fiction.

For fans of James Rollins and Douglas E. Richards.

Reader reports

From Amazon reviews
“The kind of story that could easily turn into a movie or mini series.”
Albert Oriol, Amazon review
“Great characters, good action and just enough sci-fi for a perfect novel.”
Freckled Fun, Amazon review
“Once I started reading I had a hard time putting this down.”
Linda Demaree, Amazon review

The files

A three-part series
File 01

Believing Trees

Cameron, Helen and the secret of the Trees.

Available now
File 02

Title classified

Cameron's story continues. Newsletter readers hear first.

Being written
File 03

Restricted file

The final part of the trilogy.

Sealed

The author

Matt Belcher is an English-born author who served his country before settling in the U.S. He writes fast, cinematic thrillers with a streak of the strange.

Believing Trees is the first book in The Penumbra Files.