Upon This Rock - Softcover

David Eugene Perry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0941936066 ISBN 13: 9780941936064

Publisher: Linden Publishing, 2020

Synopsis

An American couple in Italy investigate the suicide of a cleric in the picturesque city of Orvieto -- and find themselves plunged into a conspiracy that may destroy the Catholic Church -- in the stunning new thriller Upon This Rock. A Dan Brown-esque tale of intrigue, history, art, the secrets of the Church, and the conspiracies of the powerful, Upon This Rock will keep readers on edge from its original premise to its startling denouement, set in the stunning background of one of Europes most captivating cities. San Francisco business executive Lee Maury and his husband Adriano come to Orvieto to soak in the citys beauty and rich history, but Lee becomes fascinated with a local tragedy, the suicide one year earlier of Deacon Andrea, a much-loved candidate for the priesthood. Growing obsessed with learning the truth behind Andreas death, Lee finds that everyone in Orvieto has some connection with Andrea: the handsome former Swiss Guard and bisexual prostitute Grigori; the kindly elderly priest Don Bello; the gossipy American expat blogger Lady Peg; African immigrant street musician Dawud and his sister Maryam, who is en-route to Italy with black market smugglers; the exiled Episcopal priest Rev. Vicki; Orvietos new bishop, Arnaud, a sexually conflicted member of Opus Dei; the powerful head of the Vatican press office Cardinal Maltoni; and the secretive political fixer Magda Carter. Woven throughout is a 500-year-old backstory -- the plight of Medici Pope Clement VII who sought refuge in Orvieto following the Sack of Rome, whose time in Orvieto is somehow linked to the mysteries of the present. As Lee and Adriano struggle to make sense of these relationships, they stumble upon a conspiracy of terrorism, human trafficking, and a plot to plant a nuclear dirty bomb in the tomb of St. Peter. Before they know it, Lee and Adrianos dream vacation becomes a race to save innocent lives -- and not get killed in the process. A compulsive page-turning thriller with high stakes action in a glamorous setting -- and filled with countless unforgettable characters -- Upon This Rock is a sensationally entertaining read from a major new talent.

About this title

About the Author

David Eugene Perry is the CEO of the PR firm David Perry & Associates and the host/producer of the weekly LGBT TV show 10 Percent. Perry lives with his husband in San Francisco and Palm Springs.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

He stood on the cliff and prayed.

Useless, he thought, to turn my thoughts to God.

Behind him, the lights of Orvieto reflected in a million icy crystals. Snow had come early this year. It wasn't yet December.

Below, the road would be deserted. He wondered who would find him. Someone would, of course, and for that he was sorry. What a horrible thing to see, to discover: the body of a reprobate, crushed against the rock and never to see forgiveness. Never to see the face of God. Never to see another sunrise.

It should be beautiful, and he smiled. He had often come here to sit near the altar and wait for the dawn. Tomorrow, its rays would reach out to warm the city across a quilt of virginal frost. He had seen it before: prisms of color in the ice. Like a miracle it had seemed to him as a child.

No more: no more dawns, no more rainbows, no more miracles.

"Don't!"

He heard the scream, but too late. He had already stepped off the cliff, arms outspread like a cross, and dived for the tombs below.

Edition details

• Publisher: Linden Publishing
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0941936066
• ISBN 13: 9780941936064
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416