Confessions of a Deathmaiden

“Prepare to be totally taken in by this book . . .a beautifully written and constructed story. It is as original as it is absorbing.” —Michael Connelly “Captivating . . . Francisco writes with an attractive combination of matter-of-fact authority and real lyricism . . . A highly original and compassionate heroine. —Publishers Weekly “Vivid . . .compelling . . .original.” —South Florida Sun-Sentinel “Riveting, challenging and utterly original . . .This mystery novel reads like no other, and it’s striking for both its emotional and its intellectual weight.” —Killer Books, Independent Mystery Booksellers Association “Fascinating . . .plenty of suspense.” —Booklist Frances Oliver practices the arts and skills of a deathmaiden, a compassionate professional who helps ease the passage of the corporeal body to the other world, but only when the spirit is ready to make the journey. Her newest client, Tomas, a young Mexican boy living in Los Angeles, is brain-dead, but before she can apply her skills, the boy dies. Believing he was murdered, and outraged that she has been used as a cover for assassination, Frances transforms herself into a sleuth, vowing to unveil the truth. Her journey takes her from contemporary L.A. and the unsettling business of “organ recovery" to the shadowy world of smuggled antiquities, and eventually deep into the rebel-controlled Mexican mountain village where Tomas was born, a journey fraught with danger and betrayal, which nearly shatters her. While in Mexico, Frances visits the Institute for Eternal Living, where she learned the spiritual arts of a deathmaiden, and comes to learn what they never taught her in school: Instincts can fail you, passions can blind you, and evil can wear the most noble face . . .

From Publishers Weekly

Frances Oliver, the "deathmaiden" of Francisco's captivating if flawed first novel, helps ease the passage of the corporeal body to the other world, but only when the spirit is ready to make the journey. Her newest client, Tom s, a young Mexican boy living in Los Angeles, is brain-dead, but before she can apply her skills, the boy dies. Believing he was murdered for his organs, this 40-something woman transforms herself into a sleuth to unravel the mystery. Oliver's journey takes her from contemporary L.A. and the unsettling business of organ "recovery" (i.e., harvesting) to the shadowy world of smuggled antiquities and, eventually, deep into the rebel-controlled Mexican mountain village where Tom s was born. Francisco writes with an attractive combination of matter-of-fact authority ("I help people die") and real lyricism, particularly when articulating the fuzzy zone between life and death. But too many convenient coincidences, some awkward foreshadowing and a few overly familiar characters, such as the skeptical but sympathetic policeman and the doctor (named "Faust"!) with a God complex, underline the need next time for a plot more worthy of this highly original and compassionate heroine.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Francisco's Los Angeles-based debut novel combines elements of the crime story with a strong supernatural plot thread. Protagonist Frances Oliver is a trained "death maiden," or someone who helps people let go and move on to the other side. When young Tomas, a terminally ill boy in Frances' care, is suddenly taken by paramedics to a hospital where his organs are harvested, Frances suspects foul play. Convinced that a biotech company is harvesting organs for profit, she follows the trail to Mexico, site of the Institute for Eternal Living, which is investigating her actions and may revoke her license as a death maiden. Francisco's prose is a bit flowery, but it is counteracted by plenty of suspense and a fascinating premise. Jenny McLarinCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Ruth Francisco lives in Los Angeles.

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