The Santon Sacrifices
On the last day of November 1891, a village in southern France is preparing for the Christmas season. Small clay figurines called santons, representing the nativity scene, go on display in the church for everyone’s enjoyment. Surrounding the Holy Family are other santons which represent the traditional tradespeople of the village. But on the first of December, one of the children notices that a santon is missing. Later that day, the man represented by that santon is found murdered.
The country guard, Bailey Dufort, is asked to find the murderer. But the next day, another santon goes missing and another man is murdered. Guard Dufort is trained only to catch poachers, and these murders go far beyond what he knows how to handle. The mayor sends for help, and a day later two officers from Aix-en-Provence arrive to help solve the crimes. But the santons keep disappearing and the murders keep happening. The villagers are terrified and the officers are faced with a harrowing task. Of the two thousand residents of the village, who among them is a killer, and why? Eventually, the clues begin to add up, but not before this quiet and quaint village experiences its worst nightmare since the French Revolution.
Available in Paperback (Kindle edition coming soon):
Published 2025 by Templar Media | 268 pages | ISBN-13: 979-8986984858
The official website of Lita-Luise Chappell, writer on sex, magic, food, distant lands, and everyday life with articles, poetry, novels, travelogues, rituals, cookbooks, and short-stories.
