Kevin Murphy Takes on the Father of Lies

From the time Kevin Murphy learned to walk, the fifteen year old heard the story about his great, great, great, great grandfather’s run-in with the Father of Lies and how that battle forced him to flee Ireland and settle in Estes Park, Colorado, in 1872. While the young boy thought the story was complete nonsense, he would dismiss any criticism for telling a ‘Kevin whopper’ by saying, “It’s in my genes. I can’t help it. Don’t blame me; blame John Murphy.” His life was good. He even had a younger sister to tease and tease he did. All that changed for Kevin during a family trip to Ireland to see the land of their ancestral roots. While traveling throughout the southern half of the country, Kevin has his own run-in with the same evil creature but, because of his history of ‘slightly exaggerating’ almost everything he said, Kevin must keep his parents from discovering the battle for his soul he is engaged in.
Because John Murphy was the last person to defeat the Father of Lies, upon his arrival in Ireland, Kevin is invited to join a small group of people, creatures and ghosts who attend the annual St. Patrick’s Day ceremony to recharge the famous Blarney Stone that had its power sucked from it by people kissing it in the hope of getting the gift of gab. After the recharging ceremony, the Father of Lies, who must get the first person he talks with to willingly turn over his soul, approaches Kevin just outside the Witches Kitchen. If the Father of Lies fails, as he has on his seven previous tries, he will be banished from the surface of Ireland for hundreds of years before being given another chance for freedom. Kevin, like John Murphy, outsmarts the Father of Lies and defeats him. As the Father of Lies returns to the shadow world, he sends three kinds of demons to capture Kevin’s soul. The demons pursue Kevin to Stradbally, Cashel and Killarney. He defeats all three kinds and believes that he is home free, only to find that a leprechaun who has been helping is also in the hunt for his soul. Kevin cleverly tricks the leprechaun and, as the story ends, he prepares to return to Colorado for his next adventures.
Supporting characters include fairies, a talking shillelagh, a banshee, other beings from Irish mythology, Irish Traveling People, Kevin’s grandfather, parents, his sister, and a teenage Irish girl.