In this next book in the mystery series by the popular British author, Fr. Gabriel has been sent by his Abbot to assist at a church in a small town where the parish priest, Fr. Foley, is recovering from a heart attack.

Enid Jennings is the most hated woman in town, a retired headmistress and embittered war widow, who has a talent for causing conflict and distress wherever she goes. When Enid’s downtrodden daughter, Agnes, sees her mother vanish into thin air virtually in front of her, she is widely assumed to have been mistaken or to have lost her mind – her story is simply too far-fetched to be believed. Enter Fr. Gabriel, working on the principle that some stories are too strange to have been made up, who sets out to discover the whereabouts of Enid Jennings, the cause of her seemingly miraculous disappearance, and the person or persons responsible.

With help from the town’s physician and hostility from the irascible Inspector Applegate, Fr. Gabriel delves deeply into Enid Jennings’ tragic past, searching for any clue that might lead him to find her. But one mystery only leads him to a darker, more inexplicable disappearance from the days of the Phony War, when invaders lay in wait across the Channel and crimes were just a little easier to hide…

 

Praise

“The cast of characters in the mystery stories of Fiorella De Maria are almost invariably civilized people, even if some of them are guilty of very uncivilized crimes. This is one of the reasons that her books are such a delight.”
—Joseph Pearce, Editor, Ignatius Critical Editions series; Author, Catholic Literary Giants

“At its best, fiction both entertains and enlightens. Fiorella De Maria’s latest installment of the Father Gabriel mysteries does exactly that. De Maria continues to honor the traditions of the mystery genre while exploring new ground.”
—Michael Richard, Author, Tobit’s Dog: A Novel