What begins as a vacation in Italy for Professor Hillary Broome's family turns into a nightmare when her gay teenage daughter Claire disappears. Hillary uncovers an ominous plot led by Father Tommaso, who aims to reverse women's rights progress. Battling personal demons and confronting her past, Hillary races against time to save Claire. The story intertwines themes of family, redemption, and societal progress, set against a backdrop of religious conspiracy.

Editorial Reviews

Fallen Kings: Unholy Secrets depicts a nightmare that unfolds from an Italian family vacation when Professor Hillary Broome's daughter Claire goes missing. This forces her to step up to investigate, but the plot that unfolds proves to involve far more than a singular kidnapping as women's rights and social issues become focal points of threats, as well.

From the start, June Gillam's story of a religious conspiracy grabs reader attention with the news report of a killer's latest victim and the "surge in femicides" that has plagued Italy. This observation of crime and social unrest leads neatly into the first chapter in which protagonist Hillary considers world threats and the vulnerability of her own family:

Hillary poured cream into her Intenso coffee to round out the bitterness. If only she could pour a mantle of protection around her teenaged daughter, Claire.

This observation takes place not on Italian soil but in the U.S., where her daughter's participation in a local Pride parade is accompanied by worrisome headline news from Sacramento that "Local AntiLGBTQ Crimes Doubled."

As events unfold, Gillam creates a moving series of confrontations and characters that force LGBTQ+ issues and women's rights to the forefront of a dangerous battle. Events spring to life through Gillam's intense focus not just on crime and Catholicism, but on various individuals who are convinced that their paths are not only individually morally superior, but should form the belief systems of the world around them.

Gillam's approach creates a thought-provoking crime novel that is as much about Italian culture and religious and social systems as it is about one family buffeted by the changes introduced to old-country thought by women's and LGBTQ+ rights.

From the Pope and nuns and prayers to opposition to gender studies programs and a satisfying blend of historical precedent and social changes, the crime story is heightened by Claire and Hillary's perceptions and involvement as special interests clash.

All these elements make Fallen Kings: Unholy Secrets more than a singular crime story, but a satisfyingly complex survey of Italian culture and how religious institutions and social change trends can not only clash, but subvert moral and ethical pathways.

Libraries seeking a blend of crime story and vivid Italian culture will find Fallen Kings: Unholy Secrets an exceptional portrait whose multifaceted topics contribute to a novel that proves hard to put down and impossible to stop thinking about long after the read is over and events concluded.

- Midwest Book Review

Fallen Kings: Unholy Secrets pulls a reader into a world of evil and a ticking clock, compelled to turn the pages, exploring the twisted minds of characters who justify their actions with cult-like thinking. The protagonist, Hillary Broome, doesn't disappoint. Her instincts as a mom complement her predisposition to uncover crime and human tragedy.

-Rae James, Award Winning Author of Fallen Angels Book Club series, produced as the A&E/Lifetime TV movie series Fallen Angels Murder Club.

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• Literature & FictionGenre FictionLGBTQ+Lesbian
• Crime, Thriller & MysteryThrillersConspiracies
• LGBTQ+LGBTQ+Lesbian
• Literature & FictionWomen's FictionPsychological
• Literature & FictionGenre Fiction

• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 380 Pages
• File Size: 11 KB