This collection of excerpts details a complex criminal investigation centered on a serial killer known as "The Sculptor," who murders victims and preserves their bodies using a plastination technique to create horrific, life-sized replicas of famous Michelangelo sculptures. The narrative follows FBI Special Agent Sam Markham and Dr. Cathy Hildebrant, a Brown University art history professor and author of Slumbering in the Stone, as they attempt to understand the killer's motives, which are deeply rooted in his homosexuality, religious trauma, and obsession with Michelangelo's work. The investigation begins with the discovery of missing football star Tommy Campbell and a young boy, transformed into Michelangelo's Bacchus, and escalates with The Sculptor's creation of the Rome Pietà, using the bodies of Hildebrant's ex-husband and other victims to send a message to the public and the FBI.

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