Book of Hours

“…hot knife of his destruction without penitence or purification…”

Once again in its long life, the magnificent fifteenth century Book of Hours is in danger, and Brother Alphaios—the contemporary monk and master illuminator returning it to life—has put it there. The shreds of parchment he found in its cover boards reveal a dark secret that undermines one of the very pillars of the Church. He is caught between the Vatican—which wants the document destroyed —and real estate mogul Salton Motice, whose intentions are even more malicious.

In this sequel to BOOK OF HOURS: The Beguilement of Brother Alpahios (2013), the monks of St. Ambrose learn that Motice is also acquiring their monastery of some two hundred years to replace it with a skyscraper. Alpahios encounters a strange, ataxic young woman obsessed with painting enormous replicas of masterworks under one of the city’s great bridges, and a couple who, decades later, are still coping with fleeing their home country in the face of almost certain death. Beguiled, Brother Alphaios is drawn ever further from the cloister.

Through it all, he must find a way to protect the document and the terrible truth it tells.