by John Ringo
First published 2006
Barbara Everette has built the ideal life in small town Mississippi. She maintains a spotless home, raises perfect children, and manages every detail from PTA meetings to teaching kung-fu at the local dojo. Her Christian faith anchors everything she does. But perfection demands its toll, and Barbara reaches her breaking point. She announces to her helpless husband that she needs one weekend away and drives toward Louisiana seeking peace and authentic Cajun cuisine. Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant Kelly Lockhart faces an impossible case in New Orleans. Multiple bodies show DNA from several suspects who don't exist. His only solid evidence, a strange fish scale, has vanished into FBI custody. An old fortune-teller sends him into the bayous to find a mysterious pimp, warning him to watch for "the Princess" or face death. Barbara and Kelly move toward a meeting that will test whether fate or divine intervention shapes their lives. In the Louisiana swamps, something far deadlier than either imagines waits among the cypress trees.
Genres: christian-fiction, adventure, mystery, crime, fantasy, detective, action, paranormal
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: divine-intervention, enemies-to-lovers, fate, fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Louisiana, Mississippi, New Orleans
Period: Contemporary
336 pages · Hardcover · Baen
Content warnings: violence