The Cleansing: A Thriller

"Before he atones for his sins, he must cleanse the heart of one."

On a bright Sunday morning three pastors deliver the same sermon to their separate congregations at the same time. Their messages are delivered with the same condemnation, conviction, and passion. In the end, no altar call is given. All three attempt to purge their sins in front of their congregation by burning themselves alive.

It is referred to as The Cleansing.

Only two pastors succeed in their fiery death. The one who survives, Reverend Ray Stevens, is questioned, but refuses to cooperate and will only speak to one man--Jack Angel.

Former homicide detective, Jack "Death" Angel, at one time had it all. A loving wife, an adoring daughter, and a promising career. His uncanny ability to see what the victim sees and feel their pain, led him to catch some of the most heinous of killers. But the one killer he never caught, his daughter's killer, sent him over the edge. Now living alone and dealing with his own demons, Jack Angel wants nothing to do with the life he once knew.

Then he receives a call and asked to assist in questioning the lone survivor of The Cleansing. Reluctant at first, Jack agrees, but insists he wants no involvement in the case beyond the interrogation. But after he meets Reverend Ray, the one pastor who survived his personal cleansing, Jack is thrust back into the life he thought he left behind for good.

Now Jack must try and solve a dark mystery to find the answers to the questions regarding his own daughter's abduction and murder. Time is running out. A teenage girl goes missing. Bodies, savagely brutalized with a ferocity never seen before, are found. Questions surface as to their connection to The Cleansing. To solve the case, Jack will have to explore the darkest regions of man's heart, where absolute evil is born and become what he'd always seen through the victim's eyes--A killer.

The Cleansing is classic American crime fiction with tortured characters who mesmerize and chill.