The second novel from Ruby Barnes (author of Peril). A contemporary psychological thriller set in the medieval Irish city of Kilkenny. Early reader feedback on The Baptist: 'The writing is tight and very atmospheric. A chilling tale of real evil.' 'Dark and disturbing, but oh so good.' 'Dark and dingy, hot and steamy, everything you need from a novel in one swift download.' 'Well written and totally convincing, it provides an absorbing insight into the minds of some very strange characters. It's not without humour albeit of the dark kind.' 'Compelling and very, very different.' 'I was hooked right from the start and loved the dark and sinister quality of this tale.' From the author Ruby Barnes: The Baptist - he's clever, calculating and uncatchable. If you hear a knocking on your door don't let him in. John Baptist is cleansing a path for the Second Coming. ~ To deliberately drown your brother in a bathtub is a terrible, if clean, thing. Might it not be excused, if he is the manifest son of Satan? But that wasn’t the view of the Authorities, when they committed John to Fairfield Mental Institution. It wasn’t all bad; they let him keep his hair long and he met Dirty Mary. Like an institutionalised Bonnie and Clyde, they roamed the Victorian asylum and grounds, fulfilling their deluded fantasies. There were casualties. John and Mary loved, lost and left. Thank God for Care in the Community. ~ When God shines a light, it burns. Feargal and his friends relight my fire. The last prophet must wander, cleanse. I am not the One. I am merely sent to prepare a way for the One. I am The Baptist.