BLACKLANDS - Belinda Bauer

Darkly chilling tale of a boy in search of the bones of his dead uncle who was killed by a serial murderer of children. The killer is in prison, but bodies are unaccounted for. Steven wants answers. And he goes to the source by writing to Arnold Avery. The correspondence begins between the two passing cryptic notes to bypass censors.
Steven wants to help his grandmother get closure. His life is dreary, but he makes do with what he has.
Amazingly atmospheric and I will read more by this author.