On a Darkling Plain

The literary fiction novel opens with a shocking scene: In the small town of Waska, Maine, retired professor Samuel Jellerson, while walking in the woods one day, witnesses an despicable act--a priest sexually abusing a young boy. Jellerson thinks he recognizes the priest, but instead of notifying the authorities right away, a heavy cloud of confusion and denial falls over him, preventing him from taking action. Within that month Jellerson decides to confront the priest and contact the police. Rumors spread quickly in a small town and soon everybody is talking about it. What compels a priest to abuse a boy? What impels a good man to keep silence? How will the boy, a musical genius, cope with such evil atrocity? How does society respond to this--with kindness and understanding, or with even worse cruelty?
–Mayra Calvani, Bloomsbury Review