Conscious Evil

Evil is where you find it, even in the small college town of Pocklington where teachers are being murdered in bizarre and shocking ways. Is it madmen killing for sheer pleasure, or a satanic cult flourishing below the calm academic surface, or a homophobic coven. For John Adamcyzk, newly elected head of the history department, it begins with Andrea Rohrdan, young professor of classics, chained naked to a post on his lawn. Bizarre murders follow. Love blossoms for John and Andrea, but they face unspeakable deaths. Will they join their colleagues as victims of the Pocklington Terror?

Fear knows no civic boundaries. Conscious evil is where you find it, even in the little town of Pocklington, home of a small, prestigious liberal arts college. Why are members of the faculty dying horrible deaths? Is it madmen killing for the sheer joy of murder, or a satanic coven, flourishing just below the calm academic atmosphere of Pocklington College? For John Adamcyzk, newly elected chairman of the history department, it all begins one quiet Sunday morning with the discovery of a naked woman chained to a post on his lawn. Was Andrea Rohrdan, a young professor of classics, the victim of a vicious student prank or had she been cast in the role of a modern Joan of Arc? Despite mounting campus terror, John and Andrea begin to discover a blossoming love in the midst of carnage. They seek relief from the turmoil in an idyllic weekend in Chicago, but even here they are pursued by the news of a murder in John's own department. Police Lt. Ron Hansen begins to suspect the motive behind what is happening in his little town. But before he can act, John and Andrea are abducted and caught up in a crescendo of fear and torture. Will they join their colleages as victims of the Pocklington Terror?

David Scruton is a cultural anthropologist and Professor Emeritus in Ball State University. He introduced anthropology to the university and was a member of the faculty for thirty-five years. Since retirement he has lived in Colorado. His professional interests have been directed to the application of anthropological principles to the study of human emotions. Two books have been the result. Presently, he is completing a second novel in the Pocklington Quartet, beginning work on a character study of Jehovah as revealed in the Old Testament, and composing an essay on the natural history of liberal philosophy.