NAILS

A van full of fundamentalist Christians brings trouble to Toussaint, Mont.

Gabriel Du Pré’s son Chappie has just returned from Iraq missing several parts and obviously depressed. Gabriel himself is occupied with trying to keep geologist Father Van Den Heuvel, a faith-challenged Belgian Jesuit, from killing himself, while exploring for minerals. Things get nasty when a group of fundamentalists arrives from Texas. They demand that the school teach creationism, harass the science teacher and accuse those who disagree with them of being spawns of the devil. Laid-back Gabriel has no time for bigots, not even the home-grown locals who invited the preacher to lead their church. But he gets involved when the naked body of an unidentified girl is found on the side of the road and the daughter of the fundamentalist preacher, a supposed kidnap victim, makes phone calls asking for help but refuses to speak after she’s found. Aided by rich neighbor Bart Fascelli’s significant other, FBI agent Samantha Pidgeon, Chappie goes undercover at the fundamentalist meetings. His work doesn’t keep more bodies from popping up in a furniture stripping tank.

Not a mystery in the classic mold, but this 13th case gives Gabriel and all his quirky pals (Stewball, 2005, etc.) such a delightful workout that you may consider moving to Toussaint just to be near them.