Sacred Prey - Hardcover

Vivian Schilling

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0963784609 ISBN 13: 9780963784605

Publisher: Hannover House, 2004

Synopsis

“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

About this title

About the Author

Vivian Schilling is an award-winning novelist and filmmaker. She is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Quietus and Sacred Prey, as well as a screenwriter, producer and director of independent films.

Reviews

In this suspenseful thriller, New Orleans loan shark Adam Claiborne kills a couple he believes has cheated him. When he is refused absolution and told he must see the world through the eyes of his victims, he awakens to find himself in the body of one of them--three days before Adam murdered him. He learns that his victims were innocent and tries to prevent the murders. But in spite of himself, he continues to duplicate the actions that led to the murders. If he cannot break free of this pattern, not only will the couple die but so will their child. This amoral, Catholic-by-the-motions man discovers that he is a better person than he thought. While this first novel is occasionally confusing (given two simultaneous Adams, with differing understandings of what is going on), it is generally well done and deserves to be in most suspense collections.
- Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hannover House
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0963784609
• ISBN 13: 9780963784605
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 248