Our Lady of the Absolute: a mystery thriller

4/5 ( ratings)

“Riveting ... very highly recommended.” -- Midwest Book Review

“Nelson’s well-crafted tale is entertaining to the last page.” -- Matt Staggs, Realms of Fantasy magazine

Living in an alternate version of today’s world, Meres has everything anyone in the Black Land could ever want: A loving husband. A dear friend in her beloved sister-in-law Pu, who is a respected member of Pharaoh’s harem and mother to four of his many children. A dream job as a scribe in the Temple of Isis, also known as Our Lady of the Absolute. Because her parents were killed during her childhood, Meres desperately longs for what she doesn’t have: a child.

When Pu confides she has become pregnant yet again, Meres struggles between envy and joy for her friend. When Pu also reveals that Pharaoh isn’t the father, Meres reels in the knowledge that this infidelity is an act of treason punishable by death.

Because she works for the goddess Isis and her priests, Meres has an obligation to Pharaoh and country. But she feels a deeper responsibility to her family and friends. To protect her sister-in-law, Meres must find a way to help Pu escape and seek help from foreigners, a task that seems impossible and dangerous. Even worse, Meres’ own husband has suffered a strained relationship with his sister Pu and is likely to stand in their way. If Meres fails, the lives of everyone she loves as well as her own life will be in peril.

And once the priests find out what Meres is doing, they will unleash a trained serial killer to hunt and destroy her before she can unwittingly unveil their secrets.

This mystery thriller book blends the mythology of ancient Egypt with our contemporary world.

Featured in SCI FI Magazine's "Fiction Focus"