A Sickness of the Soul

When Robert, an investigative journalist, tunes into a phone-in programme while driving through the Midlands, he immediately realises he is on to something. He goes undercover to infiltrate a bizarre bikers' cult, the Sons of the New Bethlehem, led by the charismatic Teacher. It is Teacher whom Robert has heard on the radio, giving advice to distraught callers and praying for their salvation. Teacher's ministry is a fully-fledged crusade, in leather. Astride their Harleys and Hondas, his gang - Spider, Loverman, Stroker, Biceps and the rest - gather in shopping centres and car parks to witness their leader healing the afflicted. Robert's cover, however, is not as good as he'd thought, and he finds himself prisoner of the Sons, cooped up in an eerie hotel. Trying to penetrate the enigmatic facade of Teacher, and to discover what, exactly, is the man's method of healing his followers, he becomes involved in a series of deaths before he can escape. And when he's back in London with his partner, Fiona, he can't settle into his former life. The memories of Teacher's weird regime haunt him, and before long he's on the road to the Midlands once more.


Genre: Literary Fiction