"In her small hometown, librarian Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider, even as her beloved father rains fire-and-brimstone warnings from the pulpit at Holy Fire Baptist. Unfortunately for Ruth, the only things the townspeople fear more than the God and the Devil are the myths that haunt the area, like the story of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners' bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is found deep...

A Bureau Chief for "The Times" of London presents an atheistic look at the Middle East that critically assesses the practices of jihad and the ways in which religious soldiers from every region condone violent methods that are contrary to their faiths.