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Summary

Lost Mission intertwines the stories of four people who have lost sight of their mission in life with a lost Spanish mission.

The Opposite of Art chronicles an artist's attempt to paint the glory of God that he glimpses during a near-death experience. 

Stats

Genre: Adult magical realism (unexplained supernatural elements inserted into the contemporary real world) 

Series length: Each book is a standalone. 

Violence: Low overall, with a couple of high moments, such as attempted murder (The Opposite of Art) and deadly fire (Lost Mission).

Magic/Supernatural: Light, usually left unexplained, coming from outside of the characters.

Romance: Little to none

Christian/spiritual element: Strongly woven throughout.

Recommendation: These are books for those who want something more literary in style and want something to make you think. 

You might like this book if you liked... 
The Life of Pi.

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Opening Lines: 

Let us begin the story of La Mision de Santa Dolores on the holy day of the three kings, in Italy, in Assisi. To commemorate his twentieth year among the Franciscan brothers, Fray Alejandro Tapia Valdez made a pilgrimage to his beloved San Francisco's humble chapel, the Porziuncola. For more than a week the friar prayed before the chapel's frescoes, rarely ceasing for food or sleep. But despite his lengthy praises and petitions, despite his passionate devotion to Almighty God, Fray Alejandro was a pragmatic man. He did not believe the rumor, common in his day, that the frescoes' perfection was beyond the ability of human hands. As we shall see, in time the friar would reconsider. 

Lost Mission 
by Athol Dickson

What haunting legacy waits deep beneath the barrios and wealthy enclaves of Southern California?
 
An idyllic Spanish mission collapses atop the supernatural evidence of a shocking crime. Twelve generations later the ground is opened up, the forgotten ruins are disturbed, and rich and poor alike confront the onslaught of resurging hell on earth. Caught up in the catastrophe are . . .
 

• A humble shopkeeper compelled to leave her tiny village deep in Mexico to preach in America
• A minister wracked with guilt for loving the wrong woman
• An unimaginably wealthy man, blinded to the consequences of his grand plans
• A devoted father and husband driven to a horrible discovery that changes everything

Will the evil that destroyed the Misión de Santa Dolores rise to overwhelm them, or will they beat back the terrible desires that left the mission’s good Franciscan founder standing in the midst of flames ignited by his enemies and friends alike more than two centuries ago? 

From the high Sierra Madres to the harsh Sonoran desert, from the privileged world of millionaire moguls to the impoverished immigrants who serve them, Athol Dickson once again weaves a gripping story of suspense that spans centuries and cultures to explore the abiding possibility of miracles.

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Opening Lines:

Sirens called him from his dreams. When the racket stopped, he rose and crossed the little bedroom of his hotel suite to lean out into the night, trusting his life to the freezing wrought iron railing just beyond the window so he could gaze down into the alley where a couple of New York City's finest had thrown some guy against the bricks. Even from five floors up, even in the dark, Ridler recognized the lust for violence and the fear down there, but that was nothing compared to the play of the police car's lights on the wall across the alley. 

The Opposite of Art
by Athol Dickson

Art and murder collide in the new novel from Athol Dickson that takes readers on a wild ride of intrigue, mystery, and long-buried secrets.

A great artist is cast into the icy Harlem River by a hit-and-run driver. His heart stops, and he sees something that defies description.

Presumed dead by all who knew him and obsessed with the desire to paint the inexpressible, he embarks on a pilgrimage to seek help from holy men around the globe. But is it possible to see eternity without becoming lost within it?

After a quarter of a century, when the world begins to whisper that he may be alive, two people come looking for the artist: the daughter he never knew existed and the murderer who hit him on the bridge all those years ago.