Times of Distress

MYSTERY ROMANCE SUSPENSE THE OCCULT

Fr Jos van Engelen, a Dutch missionary priest, stationed in New Guinea before World War II, is recalled to Holland to help his superior general combat ideological subversion within his fraternity. He arrives in March 1940. British intelligence enlists him for covert operations, but after the Nazis invade Holland, it all goes horribly wrong. He flees from betrayal and the murder of trusted colleagues to Amsterdam, where he joins the Dutch resistance. For the next five years, directed by the mysterious Femke, he works in covert roles, staying ahead of Nazi detection units and dealing with the occult. When the Nazis fire on a crowd in May 1945, he saves a young woman and her baby from being crushed. So begins an unspoken relationship with the Strict Reformed Truus van den Donker and a deadly tussle with her brutish occultist husband. After the war, the conflict continues with those he suspects of betraying him. The conflict comes to a head during and after the Second Vatican Council and results in more measures to get him out of the way. At the same time, he must confront sinister occultist forces that want him dead. This is a story of unswerving faith and commitment against diabolical forces Fr Jos can hardly conceive. Book One of the CONCILIAR SERIES develops the early story of Fr van Engelen, Femke Leeuwenhoek and

Truus van den Donker with the location of the story in Holland, New Guinea and Australia. The period is from 1940 to 1970. Both will appear in a future title in the series. The SIXTIES SERIES will consist of eight connected but stand-alone stories. The cultural revolution of the 1960s (1960-1975) and the Second Vatican Council are the social, cultural, and political background. The author who lived through the turmoil of those times recreates its atmosphere. The themes of neo-paganism and Gnosticism are threads through the stories. Book 1 TIMES OF DISTRESS

Book 2 IN THIS VALE OF TEARS

Book 3 COUNTERCULTURE DREAMS

Book 4 THE DREAM BECOMES A NIGHTMARE due Sept 2024

Book 5 THE CASTLE OF HEAVENLY BLISS

Book 6 A SENSE OF LOSS due 2025

Book 7 WHERE TO NOW? due 2026

Book 8 A LONG WAY BACK due 2027