DAVID CADY was nominated for AUTHOR OF THE YEAR by Georgia Writers Association for his thriller THE HANDLER. Now enjoy, FATAL OPTION, the sequel to that page-turner, which picks up right where the first book ends and moves forward with the same fast-pace-action. The sequel begins when MATT FAGAN, who endangered his life while preventing the suicidal death of 300 cult members, believes that he has just killed his brother, EMMANUEL, the insane cult leader. However, Emmanuel is saved from a fiery death by his disciples. Once Emmanuel is nursed back to health, the vindictive leader begins his execution of revenge against Matt and everyone Matt loves. When the child of former cult member SARAH BRINDLE is abducted by a woman she recognizes from Emmanuel's cult, Sarah and her mother, MEDORA, call on Matt once again to find and rescue him. After Matt's adult son is shot while on patrol and his teenage son is kidnapped, Matt and his partner, LEAKY WATERS, must use all their skills to track down the predators through the backwaters along the Tennessee River. Through fast-moving flashbacks the story reveals Matt and Emmanuel's childhood in a snake-handling church, and how one critical decision by their father created horrifying life-changing events-events that lead to Matt being orphaned at the age of four, and Emmanuel being abused by a cruel stepfather-cruelty that spearheaded Emmanuel's own sadistic behavior. From MOUNTAIN LIFE Magazine: "The novel is set in the Chattanooga area, the key portions of the story taking place in the mountains surrounding the Scenic City. There's plenty of action and the author's strong feel for the region shines through." -- This refers to THE HANDLER.

This fictional thriller, the first in a series, reflects the eccentric problems of love, faith, and duty as experienced by a young mother trapped in a snake-handling cult, and the man, Matt Fagan, who is hired to find and rescue her from the clutches of a fanatical preacher claiming to be a living god. In his effort to snatch the young mother and her baby son from the cult and return them to the arms of a worried family, Matt uncovers a dark and frightening secret from his past.

Based on extensive interviews with mostly former cult members, this book chronicles the history of the Church of God of Union Assembly from its beginning around World War I up to recent times. Founded by a charismatic, unlettered leader, C. T. Pratt, who forcefully broke away from the Holiness COG organization, the church eventually found its home base in Dalton, Georgia. It grew steadily at first and then more rapidly as the great Depression ravaged workers in the mostly rural area of north Georgia. The group set up communal living practices and spread branches of the church across the country, recruiting among the most displaced with a message of social uplift and anti-capitalism, even as its religious practices became increasingly authoritarian and exploitative. If C. T. Pratt exhibited some characteristics of a violent cult leader, his son, who took over the church as his father suffered from ill-health, took these tendencies to a new level that eventually caught the attention of secular authorities. His son, in turn, was even worse--and placed the church on the path to financial ruin. Amazingly, the church survived its three authoritarian leaders and still exists