Book Description
From the acclaimed author of Confidence Woman...a secret of the Spanish Inquisition is uncovered-and its murderous wrath unleashed-in the modern American Southwest.

From the Publisher
An ancient religion, a family’s hidden past, and a modern-day murder confront archivist Claire Reynier in her search for the controversial last words of a Jewish mystic condemned to death in 1596.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"An ancient religion, a family's hidden past, and a modern-day murder confront archivist Claire Reynier in her search for a priceless document. A young woman named Isabel Santos discovers a faded scrap of paper buried for hundreds of years under her family's adobe house. It could be the controversial last words of a Jewish mystic condemned to death by the Inquisition in Mexico City in 1596." "Before Claire can examine the document, it disappears and tragedy strikes the Santos family, leaving Claire with many unanswered questions. Were those really the mystic's last words? How did they get to New Mexico, a place where Sephardic Jews hid from the Inquisition and continued to practice their religion in secret for centuries? Is someone willing to kill for the document?" Santos is Spanish for saints, but Claire soon discovers that this namesake is a mixed legacy. Every time she visits their old home, she puts herself in harm's way, yet she continues to search for answers to questions rooted in a dark and dangerous time when heretics were killed for their beliefs.

SYNOPSIS

An ancient religion, a family's hidden past, and a modern-day murder confront archivist Claire Reynier in her search for a priceless document. A young woman named Isabel Santos discovers a faded scrap of paper buried for hundreds of years under her family's adobe house. It could be the controversial last words of a Jewish mystic condemned to death by the Inquisition in Mexico City in 1596.

Before Claire can examine the document, it disappears and tragedy strikes the Santos family, leaving Claire with many unanswered questions. Were these really the mystic's last words? How did they get to New Mexico, a place Sephardic Jews hid from the Inquisition and continued to practice their religion in secret for centuries? Is someone willing to kill for the document?

Santos is Spanish for saints, but Claire soon discovers that this namesake is a mixed legacy. Every time she visits their old home, she puts herself in harm's way, yet she continues to search for answers to questions rooted in a dark and dangerous time when heretics were killed for their beliefs.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly