"Defensive Wounds"

Lisa Black spent the five happiest years of her life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office she analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now she’s a certified latent print examiner and CSI for the Cape Coral Police Department. Her books have been published in Germany, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Japan. Evidence of Murder reached the New York Times mass market bestseller’s list.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Defensive Wounds, and reported the following:

Page 69 is the last page of chapter 7. Forensic scientist Theresa has spent all day investigating what will become the first of a series of bizarre murders of defense lawyers, attending a convention at the local Ritz-Carlton. Her daughter, Rachael, is home from college and working a summer job at the Ritz’s front desk. Theresa is understandably nervous about her daughter’s proximity to a homicide but knows that to be an emotional reaction and not a sensible one. The dead lawyer had a long list of enemies—Theresa among them—so there is no reason to believe the murderer would be interested in killing again.

Theresa turns her mind to lighter fare, gently asking after the girl’s latest crush on a handsome co-worker. But even this topic does not distract Theresa from the murder as she is curious about this new co-worker; when she introduced the boy to a lawyer friend of hers, the friend became very reticent. Almost as if she recognized the kid as a—client?

The style and dialogue are typical of the rest of the book, though the subject matter isn’t—most of the book is spent with Theresa’s work at the crime scenes and at her lab in the medical examiner’s office, or with her cousin, homicide detective Frank Patrick, interviewing suspects and drawing them both ever closer to the killer.

Learn more about the book and author at Lisa Black's website.

My Book, The Movie: Defensive Wounds.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Half-Past Dawn"

Richard Doetsch is the bestselling author of thrillers, including The Thieves of Heaven, which is currently being developed for film by Twentieth Century Fox, and The 13th Hour, which will be adapted by New Line Cinema. He lives in New York with his family.

He applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, Half-Past Dawn, and reported the following:

Page 69 of Half-Past Dawn is actually the first page of Chapter 12 and if someone were to pick-up from that point it would pique their interest while giving a glimpse of the story and characters. It paints a bit of a picture of Jack Keeler and his wife and how they were regarded by friends and colleagues as they mourn their assumed death from atop a bridge; it touches on a deception that Jack and his close friend Jack Archer must perpetrate in order that they can save Jack’s wife and hints at the storm from the night before. Though page 69 provides no specific insight to the greater puzzle that entails a lost Asian culture, an assassin seeking to avenge his death sentence, nor a diary that may foretell the future, it gives a hint of the novel’s flavor like an aroma before Thanksgiving of the feast to come.

The best thing about flipping to page 69 is it would make you curious, it would make you read on, it would make you flip back to see what is going on; a quality which is the essence of the story: a large mystery that is in constant flux that goes in directions no one sees coming.

Page 69:

Frank hustled down the long embankment that led to the river’s edge. The churning waters were still near flood stage after the previous night’s rains, inhibiting the recovery effort that was already well underway. He had parked his jeep a quarter mile up the road behind a string of emergency vehicles, flashing his old police badge to gain access to the site. Frank looked up at the crowd that stood upon Rider Bridge in silent, rapt attention. They were not the usual rubberneckers, the morbid curious hoping to see a body. They were a mix of law enforcement, friends of Jack and Mia from the FBI, DA’s office, and both local and city police. Even from his fifty yard distance, he could see the grief in their faces, in their body language.

And as Frank continued to look, he felt an uneasy shame, a horrible feeling of deception for allowing so many to think the couple dead. He knew the pain he felt at hearing of his friends’ death and knew it was a communal feeling shared by all of their colleagues. Though he wanted to shout out Jack’s survival, he knew it would only further endanger Mia wherever she may be.

Learn more about the book and author at Richard Doetsch's website and blog.

Visit the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Sandburg Connection"

A native of North Carolina, Mark de Castrique writes mysteries primarily set in the Appalachian mountains. He is an award-winning film and video producer whose work has been broadcast on PBS, HBO, and network-affiliate stations as well as the author of the Sam Blackman mystery series, the Buryin’ Barry series, and two mysteries for young adults. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

He applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, The Sandburg Connection, and reported the following:

Page 69 of The Sandburg Connection provides the first clear evidence that poet Carl Sandburg possessed something worth committing murder. My detective duo, Sam Blackman and Nakayla Robertson, suspect the fall of history professor Janice Wainwright might not have been an accident. When they escort Wainwright’s daughter Wendy back to her mother’s farmhouse where a U.S. Park Ranger has been severely beaten, the scene they witness tells them their case is only beginning.

Page 69 –

The county deputies migrated to their patrol cars and Corn asked his rangers to wait outside and give us room to move around. Wendy grabbed Nakayla’s hand and pulled her through the door.

Less than two yards inside, she froze. “Oh, my God.”

I stepped behind her. Over her shoulder, I saw a room filled with contrasts. Pine paneling ran in horizontal boards along the walls. Oval braided rugs dotted the wide plank floor. The construction mirrored the style of the better built farmhouses and cabins across the valley. But other than the handmade rugs, the furnishings could have been in a beach house. An assortment of wicker chairs with aqua-pastel cushions, a bamboo-framed futon, chrome and glass bookshelves, and a coffee table with its glass top on a driftwood base looked more appropriate to southern Florida than southern Appalachia. I thought of Wendy’s aunt and father being in Florida and realized her mother hadn’t purchased new furniture since she moved.

That wasn’t the contrast that caused Wendy’s gasp. Books were strewn across the floor. At first I thought the attack on the ranger caused the disarray, but knickknacks and curios were neatly in place on the shelves. A television and an iPod hadn’t been touched, the items most burglars would grab first. Someone had either been looking for a book or for something hidden within its pages.

Ranger Corn edged around us and walked closer to the mess. “After Ranger Compton was knocked unconscious, her attacker pressed on with his search.”

“How do you know?” Nakayla asked.

“A few of the books were on top of her. She fell through the doorway from the dining room and landed in front of the hearth.” He eyed Wendy. “There were books on the mantel, right?”

“Yes.”

I noticed a bare spot amid the scattered volumes where the ranger must have lain.

Although Janice Wainwright owned several books of Sandburg’s prose and poetry, none of them can be found. The disappearance of the Sandburg volumes coupled with Janice Wainwright’s dying words, “It’s the Sandburg verses,” set Sam and Nakayla on the trail of a killer and the search for the elusive Sandburg connection.

Learn more about the book and author at Mark de Castrique's website.

Check out the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Ninth Day"

Jamie Freveletti is a trial attorney, martial artist, and runner. She has crewed for an elite ultra-marathon runner at 50 mile, 100 mile, and twenty-four hour races across the country, and holds a black belt in aikido, a Japanese martial art. Her debut thriller, Running from the Devil, was chosen as a “Notable Book” by the Independent Booksellers of America, awarded "Best First Novel" by the International Thriller Writers, awarded a Barry Award for "Best First Novel" by Deadly Pleasures Magazine, and nominated for a Macavity Award for "Best First Mystery" by the Mystery Readers International and "Favorite First Novel of 2009" by Crimespree Magazine.

Her second novel, Running Dark, hit both the Chicagoland and South Florida bestseller lists and won a Lovey award for Best Novel 2010. In January 2011, she was tapped by the Estate of Robert Ludlum to write the next book in the Covert One series.

Freveletti applied the Page 69 Test to her third novel, The Ninth Day, and reported the following:

Is anything fated? Can fate be changed?

The Page 69 test, when applied to The Ninth Day, lands on a portion of the book where a medicine man and my protagonist, Emma Caldridge, are discussing the meaning of fate. The medicine man has administered a hallucinogen to a group of migrant workers in an attempt to cure them of a terrible sickness that’s killing them. According to the medicine man, what is said by a person while under the influence of this drug is the absolute truth. Emma is appalled to learn that one man claims that they will all die at three o’clock that morning.

The medicine man accepts this prophecy and prepares to die, but Emma adamantly refuses to believe that what the man speaks is fated. She begins her frantic quest to solve the puzzle of the deadly disease before it kills them all.

I hope you enjoy The Ninth Day. It raises some issues of life, the value of life and how we each act in the face of death.

Learn more about the book and author at Jamie Freveletti's website and blog.

Check out the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Ghost On Black Mountain"

Ann Hite has published more than sixty stories in publications such as: Literary House Review Anthology, Espresso Fiction, Skyline Magazine, Plum Biscuit, Moonwort Review, Foliate Oak, and Spillway Review.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Ghost On Black Mountain, and reported the following:

Page 69:

I’d like to say I woke up on New Year’s Day, looked in the mirror, and understood what being married to Hobbs was doing to me, but that would be a fairytale of the worst kind. Instead each time Hobbs hurt me, I saw him clearer. The problem was, what would he have to do to make me understand the whole truth?

New Year’s Day was cold but sunny. I walked over to Shelly’s little house.

Mrs. Parker opened the door with a frown on her face. “What you need, Mrs. Pritchard?”

“I need Shelly’s help. It’d only be for today.” I knew Shelly was there. I could feel her listening.

“Your husband made it clear…”

“My husband isn’t here and no telling when he’ll come back, if he does this time.” I looked her dead in the eye. “I want to work in the attic and I don’t want to go alone.” This was true. “I’ll pay her, not Hobbs. He’ll never know.”

Mrs. Parker studied me for a minute. “You need to go home.”

In the first paragraph of page 69, the tone of the book is reinforced. Ghost On Black Mountain is narrated by five women of varying ages and ethnic backgrounds. The book is about choices made and how they ripple throughout these women’s lives, along with those connected to them. But it is here on page 69 that Nellie Pritchard speaks a universal truth. So often we expect change, whether it is physical or emotional, to magically appear. But Nellie recognizes—as it is with many people—when given the opportunity to break out of our script, we turn from the hard road of reality to a more comfortable safe place. It’s only when we can no longer ignore what sits in front of us that we embrace the decision to facilitate a new life direction. And so it is with the characters in Ghost On Black Mountain.

Learn more about the book and author at Ann Hite's website and blog.

Visit the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Luminous Airplanes"

Paul La Farge is the author of the novels The Artist of the Missing and Haussmann, or the Dis­tinction; and a book of imaginary dreams, The Facts of Win­ter. His short stories have appeared in McSweeney’s, Harper’s Magazine, Fence, Conjunctions, and elsewhere. His nonfiction appears in The Believer, Bookforum, Playboy, and Cabinet.

He applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, Luminous Airplanes, and reported the following:

Luminous Airplanes is a novel about a young computer programmer who’s been living in San Francisco through the dot-com boom. When his grandfather dies, in the fall of 2000, he returns to a small town in upstate New York to sort through his grandparents’ possessions. He does some mental sorting of his own while he’s there, and page 69 of the book finds him thinking about his first encounter with a real computer, in his friend’s bedroom, circa 1982:

Computers belonged, at that point, more to my imaginary world than to the world I shared with other people. Computers were 2001 and Forbidden Planet; they were big, blinking cabinets, sinister friends who did what you wanted to but couldn’t, like causing the New York subway to trap your enemies in perpetual darkness, or could but didn’t want to, like math homework. They looked nothing like the Heathkit H88 on Kerem’s desk, a gray box like a bulbous TV set, devoid of lights and switches, an appliance that was no more exciting in appearance than my grandmother’s microwave oven, and considerably less exciting than her electric toothbrush, which, with its rocket-ship styling and brightly colored interchangeable heads, its three speeds and warm rechargeable battery, seemed truly to announce the beginning of a new era.

This computer is going to change the narrator’s life. It will earn him his first kiss, and get him expelled from the Nederland School for Boys. Many years later, he’ll drop out of a graduate program in American History and begin a new life coding databases for a Web startup: the seduction of the world behind the screen proves impossible to resist. And years after that, after Luminous Airplanes the novel ends, when the narrator has already ruined everything, and finds himself living a hermit’s life in New Haven, CT, he will undertake once again to fulfill the dream he had when he was working on this Heathkit H88, to make a “world of words without end,” a theoretically limitless story in which the mysteries of his heart and his world ramify like the passages of a cave. He’ll make it, too. It’s online.

Learn more about the book and author at Paul La Farge's website and Luminous Airplanes.

Check out the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Bright and Distant Shores"

Dominic Smith holds an MFA in writing from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin. His short fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and appeared in numerous journals and magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly.

His awards include the Dobie Paisano Fellowship from the Texas Institute of Letters, the Sherwood Anderson Fiction Prize, and the Gulf Coast Fiction Prize. In 2006, his debut novel The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre received the Steven Turner Prize for First Fiction from the Texas Institute of Letters.

Smith's second novel, The Beautiful Miscellaneous, was optioned for a film by Southpaw Entertainment.

He applied the Page 69 Test to his newly released third novel, Bright and Distant Shores, and reported the following:

Bright and Distant Shores takes place in the 1890s, amid Chicago’s early skyscrapers and in the far-flung islands of the South Pacific. An insurance magnate has just built the world’s tallest building and to commemorate it—and sell more insurance—he envisions an ethnographic exhibit at the apex of commercial America. He also wants to compete with Marshall Field, who in real life donated $1 million to set up the Field Museum after the World’s Fair of 1893. To stock his rooftop display, the insurance man commissions a collecting voyage into the Pacific. In addition to gathering thousands of tribal artifacts, the voyage is to bring back “several Melanesians related by blood.”

Caught up in this scheme are two men, each in a different hemisphere. Owen Graves is the son of a demolitionist and an itinerant trader from Chicago’s South Side. He accepts the post of head trader on the voyage to gain a foothold in the middle classes—the success of the expedition comes with a handsome trading bonus—but also to win the hand of the educated woman he loves.

Argus Niu—the character we follow on page 69—is a missionary houseboy working for a Presbyterian minister. After six years away from his family, he discovers that his employer has died unexpectedly and sets off to reconnect with his family. After learning “a butler’s English and how to recite psalms and read Kipling and Dickens” he finds himself caught between two worlds, between the tribal and the Christian worldview.

The novel traces the collision course between the collecting voyage and Argus as he tries to reclaim his family. I don’t think I’m giving too much away to suggest that Argus is among the Pacific islanders who come back to Chicago for the insurance tycoon’s crazed scheme.

Page 69 of Bright and Distant Shores:

And somewhere along the way he’d learned to covet things, despite the Reverend Mister’s homilies about simplicity and the emptied cup of man. In his portmanteau there were books and drawings, a watch that ran slow, shirts and ties, a spare pair of trousers and flannels, clean socks, a gun rag with money coiled inside, a gilt-edged Bible, a set of cutlery and a silver serviette ring. He remembered his boyhood on Poumeta and how the children played with bark, raffia, and reeds, keeping them only as long as the game itself, improvising dams and sailboats on the muddy river. They watched their fathers return from their epic trading voyages to the island of Tikalia, hundreds of miles to the east, armlets and dogteeth gathered in the bows of the outriggers. They rushed to the beach to cheer for the bounty. But for Argus it was playacting. He had never understood the thrill of the bracelets that connected them to the distant island. They were frequently tarnished and chipped. His father recited the provenance of each strand of shells, naming the hands through which it had passed. Meanwhile, the children kept twigs and leaves for half a day, never once amassed a bowery of fish spines or gold-flecked stones. They watched the women wash each other’s hair, bathe in mallow-scented pools, and argued in the shadows over who was the tallest, oldest, or fastest. They watched the adult affairs of the village with a dedicated lack of interest. The dull litanies to the dead, the stupid haggling over pigs and brides. They were allowed to stay out until dark and were beaten only if they damaged property. The water pots and limed jugs, the shell and tooth empire, so many things were hallowed and beyond reach back then. He leaned against the schooner bulkhead, wending his way home after six years, his new life revealed in the props he carried, in the leather suitcase that belonged to a dead priest.

Learn more about Bright and Distant Shores at Dominic Smith's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre.

Visit the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue

"A Killer's Essence"

Dave Zeltserman was born in Boston and educated at the University of Colorado. A former software engineer, he is the author of nine horror and crime novels including Outsourced and Pariah.

He applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, A Killer's Essence, and reported the following:

On page 69, my homicide detective, Stan Green, is questioning the adult daughter of a murder victim, and later fuming about his ex-wife and how she's been poisoning his kids against his new girlfriend. As it turns out this is very representative of the book, both in the mood, and in how it shows how impotent Stan is in offering any comfort to this woman.

I’ll have to be there,” I said.

She gave me a questioning look.

“In case anyone shows up who you don’t know ...”

I didn’t spell out that her mother’s killer was the person I was concerned about showing up at the funeral, but she got the idea and her mouth started to tremble. She put a hand to her face as tears leaked from her eyes. I sat frozen, wanting to comfort her, but not sure how to do that, not even sure if it was possible. In the end, I sat silently drinking my coffee and feeling like a fraud and a coward. Eventually she fought back her grief and composed herself. When she could talk, she gave me the time and place of her mother’s funeral. I left her then.

While A Killer's Essence is ostensibly a supernaturally tinged crime thriller, it's also very much about the chaos and confusion that blinds us in over everyday lives. Stan Green is a good guy and a dedicated police detective, but his personal life is spinning out of control, and he's swallowed up in so much anger, and this next paragraph shows a hint of this:

While walking to my car, I held my jacket collar closed and lowered my head against the rain. It was a miserable day, and it pretty much matched my mood. While on I-95 North heading back to Manhattan, I almost called Cheryl to let her know how much I appreciated her poisoning my kids against me and Bambi, but I had just enough wits about me to realize what a mistake that would be. Instead I fumbled with my notepad until I found Zachary Lynch’s number, then called him. First time I got his answering machine. I left a message that I knew he was home and for him to pick up to save me a trip to his apartment. I called again afterwards, and this time he picked up.

Learn more about the author and his work at Dave Zeltserman's website and blog.

Check out the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Or the Bull Kills You"

Jason Webster was born in California and was brought up in England and Germany. After spells in Italy and Egypt, he moved to Spain in 1993, where he was inspired to write a number of highly acclaimed nonfiction titles. He lives near Valencia with his wife, the flamenco dancer, Salud, and their son.

He applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, Or the Bull Kills You, and reported the following:

There is both tension and surprise on this page: Chief Inspector Max Cámara of the Spanish National Police loses a suspect in the murder case that he’s working on, and discovers the identity of the man who attacked him in the street the night before.

A heavy pulse thudded in his stomach, as the bruise where the kick had landed seemed to come back to life, like a dog sensing the presence of its owner.

Spain’s top bullfighter, Jorge Blanco, has been found dead in the middle of Valencia city’s bullring, and Cámara, who hates bullfighting, is having to investigate. Since the killing, Blanco’s manager, Ruiz Pastor, has been a hard man to find, but Cámara has just seen him race past in a taxi and has unsuccessfully tried to catch up with him.

Now, as he appears under the old city gates to see the taxi disappear, he catches sight of a man in uniform on the other side of the road.

The pain was insistent: he’d seen that face before, and it spoke to him of violence.

The surprising thing is, however, that this man, his attacker, is also a policeman, a member of the local force run by the Town Hall (Cámara works for the national police force run from Madrid).

If that had been the one who attacked him - and part of him was already convinced, despite his attempts to reason otherwise - then there could be only one person responsible. The only question was, why?

Cámara heads back to the bar where he first saw Ruiz Pastor pass by in the taxi. The journalist he was having a drink with there - Alicia Beneyto, a women he’s attracted to, but whose views on bullfighting he disagrees with - has gone. He’d been wondering about asking her out for dinner.

Cámara makes his way home, kicking at newspapers lying in the street with headlines blazing about the Blanco murder case.

On balance I’d say p.69 is very representative of the rest of the book. There’s tension, surprise, the city of Valencia is very present, my main character Max Cámara is central to the action, and there’s a reference to Alicia, a character who plays a significant role in this book and subsequent ones in the series.

Learn more about the book and author at Jason Webster's website and blog.

My Book, The Movie: Or the Bull Kills You.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Unincorporated Woman"

Dani Kollin lives in Los Angeles, California and Eytan Kollin lives in Pasadena, California. They are brothers, and The Unincorporated Woman is their third novel. Their first novel, The Unincorporated Man, won the 2009 Prometheus Award for best novel.

Dani Kollin applied the Page 69 Test to The Unincorporated Woman and reported the following:

Page 69 would land the reader in the middle of a kidnapping attempt. It’s certainly representative of the book’s intrigue but not its heart which ultimately asks the question, what price freedom?. Having said that, it’s clear that something unsavory has just happened and IMO the reader would be inclined to turn the page just to see if the mission gets pulled off successfully.

Keep in mind; I’m an advertising copywriter by trade so I look at every single page of every single one of our books as if they’re each a single-page print ad--i.e., the text needs to flow and the content needs to pull you effortlessly along.

Learn more about the book and authors at Dani Kollin's blog and The Unincorporated Man website.

My Book, The Movie: The Unincorporated Woman.

Writers Read: Dani Kollin.

Visit the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Sand Queen"

Helen Benedict is the author of six novels and five books of nonfiction. Her latest novel, Sand Queen, set in the Iraq War, was published in August 2011 by Soho Press. Culled from real life stories of female soldiers and Iraqis, Sand Queen offers a story of love, courage and struggle from the rare perspective of two young women on opposite sides of a war.

Benedict applied the Page 69 Test to Sand Queen and reported the following:

Sand Queen tells the story of Kate Brady, an army specialist who is guarding an American prison in Iraq at the start of the war, and Naema Jassim, a medical student from Baghdad whose father and little brother have been arrested and thrown into that same prison. The two women meet at the prison entrance, after which they come to affect each other’s lives in deeper ways than either can ever imagine. It is a story, I hope, that confronts what war does to families, love, integrity and hope.

On p. 69 of Sand Queen, the reader would see my main character, the young soldier Kate, and her only two women companions at war playing a trick on a male soldier who has been taunting and harassing Kate ever since they arrived in Iraq:

Excerpt from page 69:

When I get back from my run with Yvette and Third Eye, Mack’s still asleep. He always grabs every last second of shut-eye he can, usually sacrificing a wash to do it—no doubt why he stinks so bad—but it’s just what we want right now. Yvette winks at us, puts her finger to her lips and quietly fishes out some dental floss from her duffle bag, gesturing at us to get ours. Then, quick as a flash, she wraps the floss around Mack’s legs, tying them down to his cot, while we do the same to his arms, stomach and chest—he sleeps like the dead. The guys in the tent gather around silently, grinning. In no time at all, ol’ Macktruck is tied up tight as a pork roll.

The next thing Yvette does is pure genius. She points her rifle at an open flap in the tent, screams “Attack!” And fires.

Mack’s eyes fly open in terror and he tries to jump up. But he can’t, of course. The look on his face! He struggles for a few minutes in such a panic I almost feel sorry for him. Almost. The rest of us fall around, laughing.

© 2011 by Helen Benedict, reprinted with permission

This scene – funny to the characters, disturbing to readers -- captures the way war and harassment brutalize both victims and perpetrators. Or to put it another way, it shows, as does the book, how victims can be turned into bullies.

Learn more about Helen Benedict and her work at her official website.

My Book, The Movie: Sand Queen.

Writers Read: Helen Benedict.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Sanctus"

Simon Toyne has worked in British television for twenty years. As a writer, director, and producer, he has worked on several award-winning shows, one of which won a BAFTA. He lives in England with his wife and family.

Toyne applied the Page 69 Test to Sanctus, the first volume of the Ruin trilogy, and reported the following:

Page 69 of Sanctus is a rare quiet moment where two of the main characters are reflecting on the single most dramatic event at the start of the book and trying to decide what the significance of it is. It’s a phone conversation so it’s almost all dialogue, with just impressionistic descriptive notes here and there to dictate the rhythm a little. In effect it’s a slight pause, giving the reader a small breather and a change of pace after what has happened and what is to come. On every page my main intention is to make the reader want to read the next one, so if this one doesn’t do that, then I’ve failed.

“Did you hear?” She didn’t quite know how to frame the question. “Did you hear that he ... that the monk...”

“Yes,” he said. “I heard.”

She swallowed hard, trying to hold back the emotion.

“Don’t despair,” her father said. “We should not give up hope.”

“But how can we not?” She glanced up at the door and lowered her voice. “The prophecy can no longer be fulfilled. How can the cross rise again?”

The crackle of the transatlantic line filled the long pause before her father spoke again.

“People have come back from the dead,” he said. “Look in the Bible.”

“The Bible is full of lies. You taught me that.”

“No, that I did not teach you. I told you of specific and deliberate inaccuracies. There is still much in the official Bible that is true.” The line went silent again save for the rising hiss of long-distance interference. She wanted to believe him, she really did; but in her heart she felt that to carry on blindly hoping everything was going to be OK was not much different from closing your eyes and crossing your fingers.

“Do you really believe the cross will rise again?”

“It might,” he said. “It’s hard to believe, I admit. But if you’d told me yesterday that a Sanctus would appear from nowhere, climb to the top of the Citadel and make the sign of the Tau, I would have found that equally hard to believe. Yet here we are.”

She couldn’t fault him. She rarely could. It was why she wished he had been around to talk to when the news had first broken. Maybe then she wouldn’t have thought herself into such a melancholic state. “So what do you think we should do?”

“We should watch the body. That is the key.”

Learn more about the book and author at Simon Toyne's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

My Book, The Movie: Sanctus.

Writers Read: Simon Toyne.

Visit the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue