cover image Body and Blood

Body and Blood

Michael Schiefelbein, . . St. Martin?s Minotaur, $23.95 (230pp) ISBN 978-0-312-33019-4

Dangerous secrets unravel as two Catholic priests rekindle their forbidden romance in this steamy suspense tale from Schiefelbein (Vampire Vow ). For Fr. Chris Sieb, manager of St. John’s Diocesan Center in Kansas City, the return of his old school-boy crush, Fr. Jack Canston, from Montana after 25 years is both a thrill and a day of reckoning. Their overwhelming feelings for each other lead Chris to reconsider not only his vow of celibacy but also his faith in his calling. The shocking suicide of another gay closeted friend, Fr. Eddie Gerhardt, who felt his homosexuality needed to be cured for him to be a good priest, adds more fuel to Chris’s midlife crisis. Both Chris and Jack must find the courage to make some hard choices. Schiefelbein presents the dilemma of gay priests with sensitivity, exploring the nature of “faith” in God and love: “Faith means loving when you don’t feel like it. It’s not letting fear decide what you do.” (Sept.)