The Devil of Light (Cass Elliot Crime Series Book 1)
Cass Elliot Crime, no. 1
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4.0 • 4 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
When young Detective Cass Elliot responds to a 911 call at the home of a prominent businessman, she finds him violently murdered in the barnyard with his battered wife unconscious near the tool that killed him. Still raw from her own unsolved attack six years ago, Cass is stunned when confronted with graphic photographs scattered across their kitchen floor that lead to a shadowy sect called The Church of the True Believer.
Cass and her partner Mitch Stone delve into a cunning world of blackmail and violence – and find a cult concealed for nearly a century beneath the genteel, small town façade of Arcadia in East Texas. Their investigation triggers a brutal response from powerful men who will protect their identities at any cost. They unleash a ruthless killer whose actions create a media frenzy and destroy the fabric of trust within the police department.
Cass and Mitch circle closer to the cult’s few members, following a slim lead into a night lit by fire. A night that begins with a blood ritual and ends with Cass holding a man's life - or death - in her hands and struggling to walk the fine line between vengeance and justice.
Customer Reviews
A Complex Web
This review was first published on Kurt's Frontier.
Synopsis:
Detective Cass Elliot has still not gotten over the emotional wounds of her own sexual assault from six years ago. When she responds to a 911 call at the home of a prominent businessman, she finds him violently murdered. Cass is stunned when she finds graphic photographs scattered across the floor of the kitchen. This introduces her to a shadowy sect called The Church of the True Believer. Cass and her partner delve into a world of blackmail and violence. In the center is a cult that has been concealed for almost a century. Their investigation triggers a brutal response. Powerful men want their identities protected at all costs.
The subsequent media frenzy and weak sheriff begin to destroy the trust within the department. As Cass and her colleagues close in on the cult’s members, more chaos is unleashed. Evidence leaves them with more questions than answers. With time running out, Cass and her partner must pull the department together for this final confrontation with evil.
Review:
The Devil of Light introduces the reader to Cass Elliot, detective of the Arcadia police force. Cass has is a tough small town detective but has demons of her own to deal with. Arcadia is a quintessential small town: everyone knows everyone and has for generations. Ritual human sacrifice is something they have little experience with. Evidence points to important people within the town. With a sheriff unwilling to confront this, Cass and her fellow officers are working at a disadvantage. Gael-Lynn Woods weaves this together, taking elements of cozy mysteries to make a real page turner. The evil is real, but how deep does it go? Does the cult itself even know? It is a complex web that neither side may fully be able to untangle. I look forward to the next Cass Elliot novel.
Loved it. Need the sequel!
Great story, especially for those of us from Texas that can so clearly relate to the imagery and characters of small towns in the deep South. Ms. Woods' freshman novel is amazingly mature and complex and I believe sets the stage for a great series, (hopefully) featuring several of the lead characters in this story!