By the Blood of the Crescent Moon A Hate Crime In The Deep South That Was Never Supposed To Be Solved

The news of an unknown prostitute found murdered in a Southern metropolitan city would ordinarily generate no more interest than a mid-week weather forecast, but Atlanta's renowned homicide detective John Landreith has a strong suspicion that this slaying could become the defining moment in his already stellar career. Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to make sure the body would never be found, which suggests the possibility that the perpetrator could be someone of importance with a lot on the line.
In a city historically marked by racial tensions, half of its population is doubtful that the slaying of a young black woman actually matters. Landreith and his partner, Finn Rollins, begin an investigation that takes them on a harrowing journey into the cold waters of Georgia's fabled Chattahoochee River, deep into the underbelly of Atlanta's seedy red light district, and up the steps of a prestigious downtown mega-church. Their investigation reaches a fever pitch when they confront the church's iconic leader whose well-known bluster and shameless self-promotion have led him to brazenly crown himself "Atlanta's Pastor."
Cornering the killer and forcing a confession will require a cunning maneuver in which the two detectives are left to rely on untested civilian assistance that must be perfectly timed and flawlessly executed. Landreith's experience tells him he is right to be worried, but it's that same experience that also makes this case, and its unfortunate victim, intensely personal.

Jacob Lassiter was born and raised in the deep South during the turbulent segregation and intense struggle for civil rights era of the 1960's. During his lifetime, he has the unique opportunity to witness some of the most socially volatile and politically unstable situations on five continents. From post-communistic Russia and Ukraine to deep in the Amazon basin, the leprosy pandemic in Nepal, and the AIDS ravaged nations of East Africa, he has witnessed human suffering, poverty, and social injustice on a scale unimaginable to most. "By the Blood of the Crescent Moon" is his debut novel and the first in the Detective John Landreith series.