Shawna Ryan. Destiny’s Damned (2006) 348 pp. (Destiny’s Damned Trilogy Book 1)
Publisher’s description: “Bizarre, ritualistic murders are being committed in the heart of San Francisco. Eric Caldwell's finger is cut off at the first joint. His skull is crushed by a sledge and a mysterious relief stamped between his eyes. One at a time, a cruel, compulsive killer imprisons women in a box deep within a crawl space, tortures, dehumanizes them, then sends them to God. The killer knows God damned him many lifetimes ago and that his destiny is hell. His only hope to avoid that destiny is the promise of salvation through Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. However, evidence is mounting that the New Testament was altered by pagans and that hundreds of years before Christ many pagan gods were crucified and resurrected. There was no crucifixion. There is no salvation. To stop Christ’s detractors, the killer appoints himself God's ally and murders them. Troubled and alone, dangerous to himself and possibly others, Monsignor Patrick Bodowski is hunted by the Church with orders to kill.”
Setting: San Francisco