Synopses & Reviews
Among the dirt-poor barrios and ultra-wealthy enclaves lining the hills of southern California, a construction project unearths a long-lost Spanish mission. This discovery sets off a chain of events that presents four unrelated people--Reverend Tucker Lockwood, Concha Rivera, Delano Jones, and Detective Harmony Killeen--with difficult choices. In every case, a greater good could be served with a compromise of some basic moral value. Lockwood could steal to feed the poor. Delano Jones could lie--or at least bury the truth--to protect his monument to God's law. Concha Rivera, a Christian with a strong sense of mission, could trespass to preach the Gospel. Detective Killeen could betray her sense of legal responsibility to defend her family. It seems these devil's alternatives will inspire these modern people to perpetuate the very crime that left the mission buried and forgotten 250 years ago--a mystery that is gradually revealed through research into a mysterious triptych excavated at the mission site, as well as through historical flashbacks. At least two themes of magical realism appear repeatedly through the story. First is the appearances of Santos, a mysterious being characterized by a crooked nose, in both the contemporary and historical storylines. And second, the gradual appearance of faces on the triptych as the story's four protagonists--often with the help of a mysterious Hispanic man with the crooked nose--decide whether they will repeat the mistakes of the past.
Although this is a stand-alone novel and the characters in this novel will not appear in the next, this is the first novel in a three-book deal with this author.
Synopsis
When a construction project unearths a lost Spanish mission, four people mustchoose: serve a greater good, or hold fast to some basic moral value?
Synopsis
What haunting legacy waits deep beneath the barrios and wealthy enclaves of Southern California?
An idyllic Spanish mission collapses atop the supernatural evidence of a shocking crime. Twelve generations later the ground is opened up, the forgotten ruins are disturbed, and rich and poor alike confront the onslaught of resurging hell on earth. Caught up in the catastrophe are . . .
- A humble shopkeeper compelled to leave her tiny village deep in Mexico to preach in America
- A minister wracked with guilt for loving the wrong woman
- An unimaginably wealthy man, blinded to the consequences of his grand plans
- A devoted father and husband driven to a horrible discovery that changes everything
Will the evil that destroyed the Misión de Santa Dolores rise to overwhelm them, or will they beat back the terrible desires that left the mission’s good Franciscan founder standing in the midst of flames ignited by his enemies and friends alike more than two centuries ago?
From the high Sierra Madres to the harsh Sonoran desert, from the privileged world of millionaire moguls to the impoverished immigrants who serve them, Athol Dickson once again weaves a gripping story of suspense that spans centuries and cultures to explore the abiding possibility of miracles.
About the Author
Athol Dickson's university-level training in painting, sculpture, and architecture was followed by a long career as an architect—then his decision several years ago to devote full time to writing. River Rising, named one of the top novels of 2006 by Booklist magazine, received a Christy Award; and his novel They Shall See God was a Christy Award finalist. Athol’s haunting mystery novel set on the most remote inhabited island off the coast of Maine, Winter Haven, released in Spring 2008. His novels are known for their richly evocative settings, unforgettable characters, intense suspense, and pervasive sense of “magical realism.” He and his wife, Sue, live in California.