Christmas is fast approaching, and St. Clare's is abuzz with preparations for this year's Living Nativity. Miriam Conway is determined that this year there will be no problems . . .

. . . No broken ankles . . . 

. . . No rampaging alpacas . . .

. . . And certainly no murders.

And with Helen and Gladys' help, everything seems to be falling into place.

The joy of the season is increased when Vincent Trent returns home from the Ukraine, safe and sound . . . and with a startling announcement. Everyone is thrilled by his news . . . everyone except his increasingly wayward brother Dominic.

Dominic's parents, siblings, and Father Tom watch helplessly as Dominic spirals downward. He's drinking heavily and hanging out with a bad crowd, rejecting everyone's attempt to help him.

When a fire at the Noah's Ark Farm and Petting Zoo is quickly ruled arson, all the evidence points to Dominic. Helen has no choice but to arrest him.

Then a dead body is found in the burned-out barn. It's clear he was beaten before the fire started . . . and Dominic's knuckles are bruised and bloodied.

With the young man's future hanging by the thread, Father Tom and Helen must solve two mysteries.

First, who set the fire and killed the young man?

And second, what's wrong with Dominic?

The Arrested Angel is book 15 in the Mercy and Justice Mysteries, a contemporary small town mystery series. The series is a sequel to the Father Tom Mysteries that began with The Penitent Priest and includes the same cast of characters. It features Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest who is also an amateur sleuth in the tradition of Father Brown, and his wife Helen Greer, female Chief of Police and detective in the tradition of Kinsey Millhone.