Naked in Church: a Novel

John Howell's first novel, The Goddess Patrol, earned raves, such as: "Howell must have had a riot writing this The writing is imaginative and funny The plot alone will keep you going But the real meat of the book is in the sensitive psychological processes by which several characters, who have been ground lean by hardships, fight to burst out into the light."-Thousand Islands SunNaked brings more characters fighting to the light-A Cuban doctor, his daughter back home on a mission, a banker with a secret, a psychologist with a secret, adolescent bullies and victim, a surly police chief and a church full of fundamentalists praying for the Second Coming but wanting to recant when Jesus arrives with an AK-47. Little Pond, NY resembles Howell's hometown, where, he writes, "One scandal could change the pecking order overnight. Guppies could appear as barracudas simply by swimming fast."