FITHIAN PRESS What Are We Doing in Southeast Asia-Again? In James I. McGovern's Aura of Purgatory, a novel of sex, mystery, politics, religion, and intrigue, Nathan Rhodes is an American with an ambiguous mission in a Southeast Asian country in turmoil. On one level, he is a representative of the U.S., working for influence in that country. On another level, he is a man following his own conscience, which tells him that this country is corrupt. He finds his loyalty divided among various factions, until his sense of right and wrong is jumbled. In a violent climax, Rhodes has a chance to halt the anarchy, but is immobilized by his conflicting loyalty to an assassin who has claimed his obsession. This is a high-stakes action thriller, but it is also a novel of accumulating psychological tension. Each chapter begins with a flashback to a point in Nathan's earlier life, from infancy through boyhood through young manhood to his present adulthood; in each of these flashbacks we learn more about the complexity of the man. Sex and religion are strong in the mix of his psychological nature, and there are problems in both areas. His sexual development is chronicled through a number of partners, and it's a relief to see him mature. Not quite so much in the foreground but definitely a psychological factor is his complicated relationship with the Catholic church. It's no coincidence, then, that in the main action of the novel, he is seriously involved in relationships with two women, Nora and Aleli Lu, both of whom are politically motivated by the political conditions of the country. It is an irony of fate that both of these women are "false" nuns-Nora as an escapee from the habit, Aleli as one who uses a nun's habit as a disguise in her act of political assassination of a Catholic official. Aura of Purgatory is a compelling novel, part thriller, part character study, with a fast moving plot. James I. McGovern is recently retired from a thirty year career in government service. He now lives and writes in Kokoma, Indiana. Aura of Purgatory A Novel by James I. McGovern 224 pages, paperback, $14.95 ISBN 1-56474-339-X Publication Date: Ocotober 2, 2000 For ordering information, click here or phone (800) 662-8351 or order this book now!