The Haunted Rectory: The Saint Francis Xavier Church Hookers (The St. Francis Xavier Church Hookers)

The author of the popular Dorsetville series takes us to the small town of Bend Oaks to meet a group of hookers—rug hookers, that is. When rumors of a haunted rectory shake up the small town, a new priest comes to pastor, and what he discovers will change all of their lives forever.

Bend Oaks is a small town with a big problem—every new priest who comes to town flees the rectory in the night, and no one will say why. Strange disappearances, unexplained sounds and smells, and mysterious deaths all haunt this hallowed building. But this doesn’t stop the St. Francis Xavier Church Hookers from continuing their decades-old tradition of meeting in the rectory to hook their colorful rugs to auction off at the Strawberry Festival in order to raise money for the parish.

This tight-knit band of faithful women is startled by the arrival of Father Rich Melo, sent by the archdiocese to live in St. Francis Xavier’s “haunted” rectory. Father Rich brings skepticism to his mission in Bend Oaks, but he also carries with him the terrible memory of an earlier encounter with demonic forces.

From the unearthing of an ancient biblical curse to an exorcism in Rome to the bowels of a decaying insane asylum, Valentine brings readers on a wild ride set against the familiar backdrop of small-town New England. This heartfelt tale is both an exciting suspense story and a deeply moving story of the power of faith.


From the Trade Paperback edition.Katherine Valentine