by Ted Dekker
First published 2008
FBI behavioral psychologist Daniel Clark built his reputation attacking religious belief. Then a serial killer nearly ends his life. Clark survives the attempt but finds himself changed by the brush with death. The killer remains at large, and Clark realizes he must understand what happened to him during those critical moments between life and death. To catch his attacker, he needs to recreate the experience that transformed him. This means confronting the very belief systems he has spent his career dismantling. Clark discovers that solving the case requires more than his usual psychological profiling. He must examine his own assumptions about life, death, and what lies beyond. The investigation becomes a battle between his scientific training and the inexplicable experience that saved him. As Clark pursues the killer, he faces a deeper question about the nature of existence itself.
Genres: suspense, mystery, thriller, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
468 pages · Library Binding · Center Point Pub
Content warnings: violence