The Peculiar Case of Preacher M. Brand, Jr.

Book excerpt: Marion Brand Jr. was a twenty-year-old preacher who inherited his fathers revival ministry after a horrific childhood that left him psychologically scarred for life. He was an incredibly handsome and charismatic young man who had a great effect on people who surrounded him and who attended his revival sessions, primarily young women and girls. When a young woman, Helen McCarthy, was brought to his luxurious trailer, for the first time in his life Marion fell head over heels in love and would do anything to keep her to himself. After moving to a new location in Oklahoma and setting up his large tent to conduct revival sermons, some of his staff members, who were former convicts, attracted the polices attention, as on several locations where the revival personnel stayed for a month at a time, young girls began to disappear, never to be seen again. His life was entangled with two familys own tragedies: his caravans cook, once a famous chef, Sara Weinstein, and a former mob hitman, Giovanni Mano Rossa, who was investigating the disappearance of his two youngest daughters. Preacher Brand Jr. soon began to question his own sanity and the loyalty of the people with whom he surrounded himself and who would cover up all his horrific secrets. Just how far would a grieving father go to find out the truth about his daughters? If only Preacher Brand could figure out if his nightmares were real or just bad dreams, he would not have to worry about his future, but things are not as they may have seemed.