Zane Grey 
The Day of the Beast (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) 

This 1922 novel tells of Daren Lane, a World War I veteran who, upon his return to the midwestern United States, is shocked by the decline of morals. His fiancé has disappeared, his job has been taken, and his health is in peril—and that’s not even the worst of it.

About the author

Zane Grey (1872-1939) was a prolific and highly influential American writer best known for moralistic adventure stories set in an idealized Old West, many of which were eagerly adapted by Hollywood for the big screen. He wrote to blow off steam after a long day at his New York City dental practice. His most famous novel is Riders of the Purple Sage (1912).