Absence of Grace - Kevin St Jarre

Former NYPD detective Jack Killarney attempted to leave the darker side of society behind when he moved to a small coastal town in Maine. However, when a horrific crime is committed there, Jack realizes there is no place so idyllic that evil does not eventually come calling.

Jack becomes obsessed with understanding evil, and how and why such atrocities can occur. His investigation and research lead him to Professor Vivian Rueil, an expert on the topic of evil. She is brilliant and skeptical, and is as emotionally scarred as he is. Jack and Vivian discover a pattern to evil, and this launches them on an international search, from South Sudan to Israel to Pakistan, pursuing the pattern and attempting to thwart the next human tragedy. Ultimately, they are hunting for something older than psychology, philosophy, and religion. They just might find it.