Assumption City

Meanwhile, stories of blackmail and conspiracy surface, secrets are revealed, and events escalate to a violent and unanticipated climax. As one of the characters says, Theres no end to the Tommy Rowley tragedy.

In this fast-paced and suspenseful novel the plans and motives of its colorful characters emerge and finally erupt into open conflict. At once satiric and spiritual, comic and deeply serious, Murphys fiction plunges readers into a vibrant community of strong traditions and beliefs whose shared culture cannot conceal its fierce rivalries, and the constant threat of its ideals from secular and clerical opportunists. The story will captivate anyone who has pondered the actions of people mesmerized by unexplained phenomena. The questions it raisesof the proper response to evil acts, of the durability of loyalty, of competing visions of justicewill stay with readers long after the story ends.