In Susan Howatch's new novel Mystical Paths Nicholas Darrow is a 25-year-old priest who in 1968 believes God has given him psychic powers. He finds plenty of use for this and his other talents, including considerable sexual prowess, when he decides to look into the life of Christian Aysgarth, an Oxford don who died in a boating accident.
Was he swept overboard by a freak wave or did this complicated man commit suicide? As Nicholas peers deeper into the secret conflicts and spiritual sickness of Aysgarth, he comes face-to-face with his own double life and unresolved clashes with his father, a revered spiritual director.
Susan Howatch's inventive and engaging novel delivers a thought-provoking look at the complexities of the discernment spirits and the Spirit. A troubleshooting priest with psychic abilities comes along to help Nicholas solve the Aysgarth mystery and effect a healing encounter with his father. This is spiritual psychodrama at its best!