Swinging planks of lantern light shine through the musty air and onto the dirt floor of the church basement. The oddly glowing rectangles syncopate over the damp ground and illuminate even the darkest, stooped-down corners of the space beyond. The only sound is the ragged breathing of two men, a young parish priest and a much older laborer. Aboveground these men belong completely to this place, in both body and soul. A glimpse of their faces anywhere in the sanctuary, the rectory, the school, the barn, or the gardens would be a welcome sight. But here below, these men of Isadore are interlopers. Only trespassers would sneak silently into the church's sloped underbelly without witness to carry out such a sinful and secret errand as this one. Despite their tools, and their lantern, and their resolve, neither is equipped for the task at hand or for what is to come. "In Isadore's Secret, Mardi Link shines a journalist's lamp on this dark, quiet corner of Michigan's history, assuring that the tragic story of Sister Janina is not forgotten. Link's telling is fascinating and thorough, making a story you will not soon forget."
—Steve Lehto, author of Death's Door Mardi Link, a former crime reporter, was named Antioch's Betty Crumrine Scholar for Creative Nonfiction in 2007. Her first book, When Evil Came to Good Hart, also published by the University of Michigan Press, spent four months on the Heartland Indie Bestseller List. This true story was the basis for the Broadway play The Runner Stumbles and the film of the same name. Front cover: Photograph of cemetery © John L. Russell, Great Lakes Images; image of face ©iStockphoto.com/duncan1890.
Keywords: True crime, Missing nun, Isadore, murdered nun, historic true crime, Cedar nun mystery, broken confessional, Sister Mary Janina, Janina, Josephine Mezek |
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On the Web Mardi Link's website Mardi Link's blog Media Kit Read: Review CLEWS | 10/6/2009 Read: Author Interview Cadillac News | 10/6/2009 Read: Review Grand Rapids Press | 10/4/2009 Read: Q&A with Mardi Link | PDF | 10/1/2009 Read: Article Traverse City Record-Eagle | 9/25/2009 Read: Article Charlevoix Courier | 9/17/2009 Read: Review Petoskey News-Review | 9/11/2009 Read: Article on Freep.com | 8/16/2009
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