UNITED KINGDOM
Sys-Con
MANCHESTER, England, Feb. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Some readers may find it disconcerting that Sam Jane Brown’s debut novel “Forgotten Word” (http://www.samjanebrown.com) depicts tumult in the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy at a time when the church is, in fact, experiencing a shakeup in its ranks.
But as extraordinary as the factual troubles are, Brown takes the conflict to a whole new level, blending the suspense of a thriller with the unconventionality of speculative fiction and the intellectual challenge of a murder-mystery. The main character is Zena McGrath, a detective working for an International Police Organization. She is charged with investigating the death of an Irish priest based at the Vatican, the latest victim of a chain of unexplained deaths among the Catholic priesthood.
Though Vatican authorities claim the deaths are due to natural causes, Cardinal Donatello, an enigmatic figure who is responsible for training priests in the sacred, secretive and highly dangerous art of exorcism, reveals to Zena that the priests who have died were all exorcists. Donatello reluctantly reveals the gravity of the problems the Vatican faces in the eternal battle between good and evil. He even takes her to see a priest who is possessed by evil spirits, and Zena herself has a chilling encounter with a demonic presence. Donatello convinces Zena to allow the church authorities to fight the evil in their own way.
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