IN THE HEAT OF THE ARIZONA DESERT, A RAGING FIRE PUSHES TEMPERATURES TO A DEADLY DEGREE, AND ONE WOMAN IS LEFT TO BURN

Pulled naked and barely breathing from the fire, the victim has no idea who she is, let alone who would do this to her—or why. In her hospital bed she drifts in and out of consciousness, her only means of communicating a blink of the eye. And then an angel appears. Known around town as the “Angel of Death,” Sister Anselm has devoted her life to working as an advocate for unidentified patients. To her burn patient, she is a savior. But to this Jane Doe’s would-be killer, Sister Anselm’s efforts pose a serious threat.

Ali Reynolds is on the scene as the new media relations consultant for the Yavapai County Police Department, keeping reporters at bay and circumventing questions about arson and a link to a domestic terrorist group called Earth Liberation Front. But her job quickly becomes much more. As Ali struggles to help Sister Anselm uncover the helpless woman’s identity, they realize that by locating the missing relatives they may be exposing the victim once more to a remorseless killer determined to finish the job. Faced with the possibility of putting all three of their lives in jeopardy, Ali fearlessly pursues justice—and what she discovers is a secret even darker and more twisted than she ever could have imagined.

On a Rick Steves’ Europe through the Back Door tour a number of years ago, we visited the Normandy Beaches and the US cemetery there. As we were leaving the cemetery, one of our fellow tourists asked, "Aren't we going to go visit the German cemetery?"  It turns out, we weren't. That night, she told us her story--how during World War II her father, a recent immigrant from Germany, was first imprisoned in Milwaukee and then later sent to a war relocation center in Texas where his American-born wife and daughters were allowed to join him only if they surrendered their US citizenship. When the father died in the course of a prisoner of war exchange, his widow and two daughters were left stranded in war-torn Europe as displaced persons. I used what I learned from my fellow traveler's story to create the background for Sister Anselm, a crime-fighting nun who makes her first appearance in this book and who has since has become Ali's best friend and one of my favorite characters.

JAJ