Wake of Malice

by Eleanor Bourg Nicholson

When Father Michael Walsh, a Jesuit priest on the western coast of Ireland, faces a charge of embezzlement, a London newspaper sends expatriate Irish reporter Hugh Buckley home to deliver a story—or else. Buckley and his photographer colleague Frederick Jones arrive in the village of Doolin to find themselves embroiled in a tangled mess of parish politics, occult practices, and bloody murder. By night, as wicked things rise from the earth, Buckley faces his own long-repressed struggles with his country, his abandoned faith, and his dead family. But by day, he finds help, both professional and personal, from English Dominican friar Father Thomas Edmund Gilroy, OP, who has come to Doolin to support his friend Father Michael and to aid in the spiritual battle against the occult.

Can Hugh and Freddie save their employment—and their skins—as the grotesque violence intensifies? Or will they and the rest of the village of Doolin be consumed by dark powers lurking within the mysterious landscape of Ireland?

Praise for Wake of Malice

“Wake of Malice is purely a delight—lively characters in a richly presented Irish village, pagan rites and ancient unnatural perils—this book lets you live it all.” —Tim Powers, bestselling author

“Eleanor Bourg Nicholson’s powers of storytelling are at their best in this third novel featuring the priest exorcist Father Thomas Edmund Gilroy. This time we find him in the wilds of the west of Ireland, at the turn of the last century, amidst mysterious deaths and primitive superstitions. We also find him and ourselves in a world of shadows in which the unnatural and the supernatural are interwoven in a deadly and demonic embrace. As the mystery deepens and darkens, we brace ourselves for the moment in which the exorcist will come face to face with an evil too deep and dark to fathom. How will Father Thomas Edmund pit his wit and wisdom, and his priestly power, against the power of the pit itself? This is the question at the heart of the mystery. Eleanor Bourg Nicholson has the mastery of the mystery, keeping us wondering and guessing with every turning page. Supernatural thrillers are seldom this supernaturally thrilling!” —Joseph Pearce, author of Catholic Literary Giants

“For your entertainment, Eleanor Nicholson delivers another high-spirited Edwardian paranormal adventure in the vein of her much-loved creature features A Bloody Habit and Brother Wolf—this time in the hills of old Ireland. Equal parts cozy and grotesque, playful and deadly earnest, this fresh Fr. Gilroy mystery will delight Nicholson’s loyal fans as well as earning her many new ones.”—Katy Carl, author of As Earth Without Water

“Nicholson’s writing is so witty and fun, you almost find yourself smiling as a host of supernatural evils descends on the little village of Doolin, Ireland. Rarely do horror and humor come together so seamlessly as in Wake of Malice.” —Bernardo Aparicio García, publisher, Dappled Things

“I confess that reading this book after dark made me a little scared to emerge from my cell, and it certainly made me pray for Our Lady’s protection from the diabolical. Altogether, a convincing tale that draws one into its world and quite a page-turner as I longed to find who caused these mysterious deaths!” —Fr. Lawrence Lew, OP