Isaiah's Daughter - Mesu Andrews

Isaiah’s Daughter tells the story of orphan Ishma, who finds refuge in the prophet Isaiah’s home after the violent deaths of her parents during the sacking of Bethlehem.  

In the fullness of time Ishma is adopted by Isaiah, and given a new name, Hepzibah, and her childhood friendship with Prince Hezekiah matures into love.  But these are turbulent times, Hezekiah’s father King Ahaz is a cruel man and Isaiah’s prophecies are often increasingly confusing and are not well received.

Mesu Andrews has written another superb Biblical novel.  Her great talent is to open the lands, peoples, and times of the Bible to us 21^st century readers.  She has a gift for creating characters with flaws and failings as well as strengths, and for creating settings which you can almost feel.  

In Isaiah’s Daughter, we are given a powerful insight into the life of a prophet, with all the challenges, confusions, and risk that such a role carried.  While it’s very clear this is a novel, it has much to offer in terms of enabling a deeper connection with the cultures and peoples of the Bible.

The Man Who Broke into St Peter's - Chick Yuill

It’s just after Christmas when the caretaker of St Peter’s arrives at the church to discover there’s been a break in – and that the intruder is still there, kneeling at the communion rail.

Unnervingly, he looks just like the portrait of the crucified Christ which hangs in the church. The mystery of the visitor’s identity is solved quite early on, but the story surrounding him will have significant effects on several people in the small town of Penford.

This book was the first of Chick Yuill’s that I read, and I was totally mesmerized by the story. It’s one of those rare books which is genuinely un-put-downable. 

Yet this is not a ‘fluffy’ easy read. It’s a hard hitting novel which addresses some very serious issues head on, and doesn’t flinch away from demonstrating that actions have consequences.  

For anyone who likes a powerfully written, compelling novel which deals with real, down to earth issues, I heartily recommend this.  Bex Lewis says that it’s “A page turner of a novel that I read in a single evening.”  She’s absolutely right.  The Man Who Broke Into St Peter’s well deserved its place as a shortlisted title for the CRT Fiction Book of the Year 2019.


For transparency, I work with Instant Apostle books, but I am not required to write any specific review. All views herein are my own.

The Happy Camper - Melody Carlson

The latest book I’m going to talk about is The Happy Camper in which we meet Dillon Michaels, who is heading out to her grandfather’s farm after a serious bump in the road of her life.  She’s looking forward to her time there but when she arrives she finds that her eccentric mother has beaten her to it, and seems to be settling in for a long stay of her own.  With nowhere to sleep but the sofa, things change when her grandfather gives her his dilapidated vintage caravan and she sets out to restore it.  In the process she meets Jordan Atwood, owner of the nearby hardware store and fellow vintage trailer fan.  Their friendship begins to develop as he helps her with the materials and knowledge to repair her trailer, but local girl Vivian – who owns the fanciest vintage trailer in town - doesn’t seem too happy about it.

You know what you’re getting with a Melody Carlson novel.  Her stories are light reading, perfect for those dark evenings when you’re longing for the signs of spring. The settings are well described and the characters have enough complexity and depth to keep them believable and the required-but-not-too-trite misunderstandings and resolutions.  I’m a camper myself, and I absolutely love the way the vintage trailer of this book is a character in itself.  The details of the restoration are beautifully laid out, and I could almost picture the van, and the other vans described in the story.   

9780800737238, Revell, Published April 2020.

For transparency, I work with Revell books in the UK, but I am not required to write any specific review. All views herein are my own.

Secrets She Kept - Cathy Gohlke

This is one of several books I've read lately which deals deeply with matters of family.  Hannah Sterling’s relationship with her mother Lieselotte has always been difficult, so when Lieselotte dies, Hannah is astonished to find that her mother has left her the key to a safety deposit box, the contents of which send her on a journey around the world to meet the German grandfather she never knew she had – and to find out about the huge secrets her mother kept to her grave.

This story is told from Lieselotte’s perspective during WWII, and from Hannah’s viewpoint 30 years later.  Early in the war Lieselotte is working secretly to help Jewish families in hiding in Berlin, all the while living at home with her father, who is rising in prominence within the Nazi regime, and her brother Rudy who is a passionate member of the Hitler Youth. She falls in love with Lukas, but this is not at all to the liking of the very nasty Dr Peterson, her father’s friend.  Her father’s ambition will lead to tragic consequences for many people – including his daughter.  And 30 years later, the sins of the fathers continue to have consequences.

This is a superbly written book.  Gohlke’s strong, descriptive writing immerses the reader, the plot develops with several unexpected twists and turns, and it’s one of not very many novels which has made me cry.  There were some questions raised as I read, but to talk about them would give spoilers to the story, which would be a great shame for anyone yet to read this excellent novel.  This novel is one of two with which Muddy Pearl are making their entrance to fiction publishing, and it’s a superb debut for them. 

9781910012932, Muddy Pearl

For transparency, I received a copy of this book from the publisher, but I was not required to write any specific review. All views herein are my own.