A former Scotland Yard detective, Father Gilbert knows about death. But, now a priest of a modest Anglican church in the small town of Hailsham, he didn't expect it to show up like this—in the suicide of a man who threw himself off the church tower, and in the discovery of a two-hundred-year-old body beneath an ancient bridge. The deaths are linked. The mummified corpse under the bridge, a murder victim, reignites a centuries-old battle between two local families—the Todds and the aristocratic Hayshams. Then both David Todd and Lord Haysham begin to act strangely, fearful for reasons they won’t explain. When Lord Haysham is murdered, David Todd is the prime suspect. But Todd is maniacal, claiming great forces of evil are at work. An entire history of violence and depravity begins to emerge, interweaving the history of several local families with a secret occult society that engages in Black Masses. Has the Society emerged again

When Father Gilbert traded in his detective's badge for an Anglican priest's collar, he never expected that murder would follow him. Even a church conference in the quant seaside town of Englesea offers no escape. The vision of a dead woman, water dripping from her body, draws Gilbert into a mystery that seems straightforward, but soon entangles him in a power struggle between corrupt players who want to dominate the illegal sex trade in town. The victims are pawns in a game that extends to London and across international borders. The dead cry for justice and Father Gilbert fights against forces hiding in the shadows. Can he champion the truth in time to stop more people from dying? Praise for Paul McCusker: "McCusker weaves threads of the natural, unnatural, and supernatural into a darkly tangled mystery." —Brian Sibley, author of Shadowlands "Paul is a truly accomplished writer. His plot construction is masterly..." —Adrian Plass, writer and speaker "An incredible mixture of chills and thoughtfulness." —Rob Parsons, OBE "Beautifully written." —Philip Glassborow, playwright and composer