Eminence — William X. Kienzle

TOUCH OF LIFE, WHISPER OF DEATH

From the converted bank building in downtown Detroit, four religious brothers and a priest give sight to the blind and new health to the sick. Before long the afflicted throng to be cured. Fat donations enrich the spartan quarters of the makeshift monastery. Church dogmatists debate whether these faith healers can be hailed as miracle workers.

But from the walls of St. Stephen's flow not only good works, but some very foul deeds. Like embezzlement. Torture. And murder.

How fitting, then, that this grim riddle should fall under the seasoned scrutiny of Father Koesler. Yet to crack a case that mingles the seemingly sacred with the dangerously profane, the uncharacteristically confounded cleric will have to pray for a lot more than a miracle.