My Books
Stories That Stay With You
Explore Inger E. Johnson’s books, from sweeping family sagas and international mysteries to deeply personal stories of immigration, resilience, and legacy.
Veiled Halos
A Saga of Betrayal and Redemption
Some halos are worn.
Some are lived in secret.
And some, in the end, are simply signed.
Popayán, 1923. A fourth child is born into the Rendón family as Holy Week processions wind through streets scented with incense and rain. His mother cradles him with the certainty that God has chosen this one for something. His father counts, again, the futures he can afford to give.
What follows is a sweeping story across generations — from the cane fields of Valle del Cauca to the city of Cali and the wide distances of the American West. Three brothers build their lives from what the century allows: faith and stubbornness, ambition and silence, love that cannot be named, and grief that never quite finds its voice.
When their mother’s will is read in a lawyer’s office smelling of lemon polish and old paper, long-buried truths rise to the surface.
Veiled Halos is a multi-generational family saga about inheritance in every sense — land, faith, grievance, memory, and the stories families tell to survive the ones they cannot share.
This is a story where power doesn’t announce itself – it disguises itself as love, legality, and care…
Ideal for readers who love:
- Multi-generational family sagas
- Literary fiction with mystery and emotional depth
- Stories rooted in Colombian history and culture
- Complex, morally gray characters
- Themes of faith, exile, resilience, and redemption
Book Trailer
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The Veiled Halos Audiobook Is Now Available!
Experience the story in a new way with the Veiled Halos audiobook.
Listen to the AudiobookBeyond grateful!
Hearing from readers who have connected with Veiled Halos has been one of the most rewarding parts of publishing my debut novel.
I’m deeply grateful to every reader who has taken the time to share their thoughts.
Book Club Discussion Questions
Questions for readers, book clubs, and discussion groups.
1. The novel spans several generations of the same family. How did the earlier generations’ choices ripple forward into the lives of their descendants?
2. Betrayal shows up in more than one form throughout the story. Which betrayal affected you most, and why?
3. How does the Valle del Cauca become more than just the setting? In what ways do its history, culture, and landscape influence the characters’ choices?
4. What does redemption mean in the novel? Which characters, if any, ultimately achieve it?
5. Family secrets are often kept “to protect” someone. Did you find that reasoning convincing in this book, or did it feel more like self-protection?
6. If you could ask one character a single question, who would it be and what would you ask?
7. Memory plays an important role throughout the novel. How do the characters’ memories – accurate or not – shape the story and the choices they make?
8. What did this book make you think about your own family’s history or untold stories?
9. Which character changed the most in your eyes as the story unfolded? Was there someone you judged harshly at first but understood differently by the end?
10. Several characters make choices that are both understandable and deeply flawed. Which decision did you find the hardest to judge, and why?
The Muzo Emerald Murders
The green wars return. Your silence, or your life.
When the flawless Muzo emeralds vanish from a secure vault beneath Bogotá, the theft is brazen but the message left behind is far more chilling.
Chief Inspector Ciro Rendón is no stranger to corruption, but this case cuts deeper than stolen gemstones. A powerful senator is dead, whispers of conspiracy ripple through Colombia’s elite, and a web of blackmail, betrayal, and hidden loyalties begins to surface.
From glittering society banquets to shadowed rose gardens and the dangerous emerald mines of Boyacá, Ciro uncovers secrets powerful enough to topple governments. As the notorious “green wars” threaten to return, truth becomes the most dangerous commodity of all.
The Muzo Emerald Murders is a gripping international crime thriller steeped in political intrigue, moral tension, and the haunting legacy of Colombia’s emerald trade.
Ideal for readers who enjoy:
- Intelligent, layered international mysteries
- Atmospheric thrillers with rich cultural settings
- Stories of corruption, loyalty, and hidden power
- Detective fiction with psychological depth
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Behind the Story
Discover some of the personal inspiration behind The Muzo Emerald Murders.
What Early Readers Are Saying
The Road That Knows No End
A Life Journey from Imperial Austria to the American Prairie
Some journeys end. The stories they begin do not.
Born into privilege in the fading world of Imperial Austria, Victor von Goetz was expected to follow a path shaped by family, faith, and duty. Instead, his restless mind and skilled hands led him toward machinery, railways, distant seas, and a life no one could have predicted.
When danger forces him to leave Europe, Victor crosses the Atlantic carrying little more than a toolbox, five dollars, and the knowledge that he may never return home. In America, he faces poverty, betrayal, unfamiliar customs, and a language he barely understands. Yet in the coal country of Pennsylvania, he finds work, purpose, and Anna, a strong and steadfast immigrant whose quiet courage will shape every chapter that follows.
Together, they journey west to the raw Nebraska prairie, where Victor becomes a railroad man, photographer, businessman, mayor, husband, father, and unforgettable member of a growing community.
Inspired by Victor’s memoir, family letters, photographs, and historical records, The Road That Knows No End is an intimate yet sweeping story of immigration, resilience, love, craftsmanship, and the legacy ordinary people leave behind.
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