Published by Henry Holt and Co., May 2017; now in paperback.
The Mexican village of San Patricio is being menaced by a bizarre, cultish drug cartel infamous for its brutality. As the townspeople try to defend themselves by forming a vigilante group, the Mexican army and police have their own ways of fighting back. Into this volatile mix of forces for good and evil (and sometimes both) steps an unlikely broker for peace: Timothy Riordan, an American missionary priest who must decide whether to betray his vows to stop the unspeakable violence and help the people he has pledged to protect.
Riordan’s fellow expatriate Lisette Moreno serves the region in a different way, as a doctor who makes “house calls” to impoverished settlements, advocating modern medicine to a traditional society wary of outsiders. To gain acceptance, she must keep secret her rocky love affair with artist Pamela Childress, whose troubled emotions lead Moreno to question their relationship.
Together, Lisette and Riordan tend to their community. But when Riordan oversteps the bounds of his position, his personal crisis echoes the impossible choices facing a Mexican nation beset by instability and bloodshed.
Based on actual events, propelled by moral conflict, and animated by a keen and discerning sensibility, Some Rise by Sin demonstrates yet again Philip Caputo’s generous and soulful gifts as a storyteller.
“Caputo knows how to set a scene and build tension through detail . . . . His prose is tough-minded but not without compassion, and he brings experience from one part of the world to another.”
―Seattle Times
“A work of genuine heft, Some Rise by Sin explores the search for meaning in a place where the stakes are highest and does so with unwavering focus. Caputo remains a master of his craft.”
―Booklist (starred review)
“Caputo’s novel is one of action . . . . The overall lesson of the novel is a powerful one: economics trumps morality in shaping the fate of nations.”
―BookPage
“Couldn’t be timelier. . . . Caputo is an acute observer of human disorder and disarray . . . . A compelling novel.”
―Kirkus Reviews
“A thought-provoking story . . . . Illuminate[s] the contradictions of human nature and the mysteries of faith.”
―Publishers Weekly
“A mighty narrative in a brutal land of old gods and new devils where darkness pierces the heart in an unholy war for souls. Beyond the realities of vicious narco-hombres, crooked good guys, innocents torn asunder and acts of selfless grace, Caputo reaches for a high moral compass not seen since Graham Greene’s magnificent Mexico set classic, The Power And The Glory.”
―Thomas Sanchez, author of Mile Zero and Rabbit Boss
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