A Circumstance of Blood

Book excerpt: A problem student is suspected of murder in this contemporary mystery thriller set at a Jesuit school by the author of The Broom Closet. Fr. Colin McAvoy, a Scottish Jesuit priest and principal of the Matteo Academy, wants to create a wholesome learning environment for as many students as possible—whether or not their parents can pay. Then Colin receives a new pupil who puts his charitable convictions to the test. Graham Dennison has been accused of trying to kill his mother. Colin wants to refuse him, but the funds they could raise from Graham’s lawyer father would do a lot of good for the academy. To put his mind at ease, Colin brings in an old friend, journalist Sarah Markham, to develop a profile of the young man. She’s not convinced Graham is violent at all. But when another student is found dead from a possible drug overdose, the entire school is thrown into a panic. Now it’s up to Sarah to get to bottom of the murder. Was she wrong about Graham? Or is something even more sinister afoot at Matteo Academy?