"Screenwriter Schilling shows deft storytelling ability... Fresh, lively and supplied with plenty of suspenseful twists... A promising debut that will surely entertain." - Publisher's Weekly
In this dark Dickensian tale of murder and redemption, award-winning author Vivian Schilling delves deep into the mind of a New Orleans loan shark, and in a twist of fate, pits him against his own prejudice and self-righteous greed.
Adam Claiborne - a devout Catholic and family man - ascended from the slums in Algiers to a lush mansion in the Garden District and now condemns those too weak to transcend their misfortunes. He built his empire with hard work and when needed, rules it with an iron fist. But when a routine debt collection deep in the bayou leaves Charlie and Monique Sinclair dead, he turns to a priest to assuage his nettling conscience. Normally, Adam's blood-stained confessions are met with a prayer and all is forgiven ... until now. When a new priest denies him absolution, it marks the beginning of a harrowing journey for Adam. That night, his uneasy sleep thrusts him into a disturbing new reality when he awakens to find himself three days back in time and in the body of Charlie Sinclair. With a new perspective on his victim's circumstances and last three days of terror, Adam must find compassion or die at his own ruthless hand.
Sacred Prey is a powerful and heart-pounding glimpse into the soul of New Orleans, into the colorful lives of its rich and poor, black and white, Christian and Vodoun - a riveting tale that reveals universal truths, moral complexity and the power of perspective.
Praise for Sacred Prey
"Highly respectable writing ... thoroughly gripping." - Chicago Sun-Times
"Fast-paced . . . well handled . . . downright entertaining." - The Baton Rouge Advocate
"Suspenseful . . . well done." - Library Journal
"A psychological thriller you won't forget... Written with an imagination that smacks of part Edgar Allan Poe / part island voodoo . . . an unforgettable trek." - The Herald, North Carolina
"Sacred Prey reads fast and hard, like a gangster movie screenplay, with sharp images for impressionable minds open to the supernatural. A page-turner." - Eva Wojcik-Obert
"Startling and brilliant . . . a terror-filled, very metaphysical trek into atonement . . . Schilling writes with all the passion of lightning. Her ideas brood and rumble and thunder and relentlessly strike home." - The Book Reader
"A mighty tale of action, adventure, passion and brutality . . . the author keeps us riveted to the end, when she ties it all up with the neatest bow ribbon ever." - West Coast Review of Books/Rapport
"A chilling insight into fear lived through another man's eyes." - Courier Gazette, New York
"There's a new name on the horizon. It's Schilling, Vivian Schilling. Rarely does a book blow me over - maybe once or twice per year. Sacred Prey is that rare exception. Terrific and fantastic are the terms that come to mind to describe this unique premise and tidy execution." - Jacksonville Times-Union
Winner of the Golden Scroll Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literature
Genre: Mystery
In this dark Dickensian tale of murder and redemption, award-winning author Vivian Schilling delves deep into the mind of a New Orleans loan shark, and in a twist of fate, pits him against his own prejudice and self-righteous greed.
Adam Claiborne - a devout Catholic and family man - ascended from the slums in Algiers to a lush mansion in the Garden District and now condemns those too weak to transcend their misfortunes. He built his empire with hard work and when needed, rules it with an iron fist. But when a routine debt collection deep in the bayou leaves Charlie and Monique Sinclair dead, he turns to a priest to assuage his nettling conscience. Normally, Adam's blood-stained confessions are met with a prayer and all is forgiven ... until now. When a new priest denies him absolution, it marks the beginning of a harrowing journey for Adam. That night, his uneasy sleep thrusts him into a disturbing new reality when he awakens to find himself three days back in time and in the body of Charlie Sinclair. With a new perspective on his victim's circumstances and last three days of terror, Adam must find compassion or die at his own ruthless hand.
Sacred Prey is a powerful and heart-pounding glimpse into the soul of New Orleans, into the colorful lives of its rich and poor, black and white, Christian and Vodoun - a riveting tale that reveals universal truths, moral complexity and the power of perspective.
Praise for Sacred Prey
"Highly respectable writing ... thoroughly gripping." - Chicago Sun-Times
"Fast-paced . . . well handled . . . downright entertaining." - The Baton Rouge Advocate
"Suspenseful . . . well done." - Library Journal
"A psychological thriller you won't forget... Written with an imagination that smacks of part Edgar Allan Poe / part island voodoo . . . an unforgettable trek." - The Herald, North Carolina
"Sacred Prey reads fast and hard, like a gangster movie screenplay, with sharp images for impressionable minds open to the supernatural. A page-turner." - Eva Wojcik-Obert
"Startling and brilliant . . . a terror-filled, very metaphysical trek into atonement . . . Schilling writes with all the passion of lightning. Her ideas brood and rumble and thunder and relentlessly strike home." - The Book Reader
"A mighty tale of action, adventure, passion and brutality . . . the author keeps us riveted to the end, when she ties it all up with the neatest bow ribbon ever." - West Coast Review of Books/Rapport
"A chilling insight into fear lived through another man's eyes." - Courier Gazette, New York
"There's a new name on the horizon. It's Schilling, Vivian Schilling. Rarely does a book blow me over - maybe once or twice per year. Sacred Prey is that rare exception. Terrific and fantastic are the terms that come to mind to describe this unique premise and tidy execution." - Jacksonville Times-Union
Winner of the Golden Scroll Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literature
Genre: Mystery
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