Jehovah: A Novel

Haunted by nightmares, tormented by the past, struggling constantly to keep his professional life from affecting his family, veteran police detective Sam Cain is on the verge of leaving the force when he is asked to investigate a series of seemingly related murders, an investigation that he realizes could bring him face to face with his own darkest fears. Set in Austin in the early1980s, Jehovah is a character-driven, psychologically complex mystery/crime drama. Sam Cain, against his every instinct, agrees to head the investigation into a series of apparent vigilante murders committed by a killer who writes taunting letters to the police and media proclaiming himself the Old Testament God of retribution. As the body count rises and Sam is drawn deeper into the hunt for a killer who may be something of a Jekyll-and-Hyde-unrecognizable in the daytime and impalpable at night-he realizes that he must pursue this faceless killer while at the same time confronting his own internal demons, until he finally discovers the shattering truth of the killer's identity. Jehovah will appeal to readers of literate mysteries. Advance readers have compared the voice and style of the novel to those of both Ian Rankin, whose protagonist is also a veteran homicide detective who battles inner demons, and Dennis Lehane. Set against the background of Austin's explosive growth, the investigation of admitted serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, and the public debate over the newly-reinstituted death penalty, Jehovah explores themes of duality, the mystery and complexity of the human mind, and the desire for justice versus the impulse for retribution, combining elements of Zodiac, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Oedipus Rex