The Piercing

NOTHING HURTS WORSE THAN PERFECT LOVE Betty Sue is a nationwide sensation. What happens to her unwilling body once a week, every week, is haunting, horrifying... and fascinating to millions. The TV says it's a miracle. The Church says it's a fake. Both are wrong. Only a priest tormented by lust, who is willing to trade body for soul, can penetrate the unholy secret of The Piercing...

The story of a young, confused girl and her sacreligious struggles with the Stigmata and her budding sexuality. This is an excellent book if you enjoy deep, psychological horror relating to Catholicism and its beliefs. I owned a copy of this in the very early 1980s and have only seen it once since then. The recent movie "Stigmata" echoes certain situations I read of in this book, though it's not quite the same throughout... all in all a very intense read. I highly recommend it if you can find it - it's out of print. :(