second sleep, The
Book Description
When young priest Christopher Fairfax arrives in a windswept Exmoor village to perform a funeral, he expects a simple ceremony for his deceased predecessor. Instead, he discovers a mystery that will shake the very foundations of everything he holds sacred.
The remote countryside reveals its secrets slowly, scattered with ancient relics that the former parson obsessively collected: weathered coins, shattered glass fragments, and human bones that whisper of forgotten times. As Fairfax delves deeper into his predecessor's strange fascination with these artifacts, he begins to question whether this obsession with antiquity led to the man's death.
What unfolds over six transformative days becomes far more than an investigation into suspicious circumstances. Fairfax finds himself on a profound journey that challenges his understanding of faith, history, and his own identity. Each revelation forces him to confront uncomfortable truths about the world he thought he knew.
Robert Harris crafts a haunting exploration of how confronting the past can shatter our present certainties. This gripping tale speaks to anyone who has questioned their beliefs or wondered how much of what we accept as truth might be built on shifting ground. For readers drawn to stories where spiritual crisis meets historical mystery, Fairfax's six-day ordeal offers a compelling meditation on faith, doubt, and the courage required to seek authentic truth.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~8 hours)
📄 Length: 297 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Strengthen your faith journey
- ✓ Explore Funeral rites and ceremonies
- ✓ Explore FICTION / Suspense
- ✓ Explore Antiquities
- ✓ Explore FICTION / Thrillers
- ✓ Explore Fiction, mystery & detective, historical
- ✓ Explore Fiction, suspense
- ✓ Explore New York Times reviewed
