A somewhat repetitive yarn brimming with theological musings for readers with an interest in Christian philosophy.
In Kelley's novel, a Catholic priest analyzes a potentially historically significant manuscript about a post-crucifixion manhunt for Jesus Christ.
Father Thomas Mann teaches Christian history at Columbia University in 2029. His quiet life is upended when he gets a middle-of-the-night phone call from his friend Miles, a prestigious archaeologist. Miles has discovered an astoundingly intact trove of scrolls in a tomb in Kashmir and has already authenticated them; however, he doesn’t have the skills necessary to translate the Latin contained within, which is where Father Mann comes in. Although initially reluctant, Mann agrees to fly to Kashmir, where he will have three months at a secluded monastery to translate the scrolls before the state destroys them as “blasphemy.” Upon setting to work, Mann discovers that the scrolls follow Marcus Decia, a disgraced tribune, and his companions Poet and Boy as they search for Jesus after he has reportedly risen from the dead. They are hounded by another, much less honorable pair of bounty hunters, and their clashes provide much of the novel’s action. The trio eventually intersects with Bhagawati Ma, a “blissful spiritual woman” from India who helps guide them not only to the man they’re seeking but also to inner peace and religious belief. Aside from the clashes with the rival bounty hunters, the majority of the narrative focuses on ethical and religious deliberations. While Boy was enslaved by Marcus after his village fell to the Romans in battle, the text is primarily concerned with maintaining Marcus’ honorable and irreproachable character—rather than honestly interrogating the undeniable contradictions this entails, the story goes to great pains to affirm that Boy actually wants to be and continues to benefit from being enslaved. Poet, as the name suggests, is the chronicler of the group; he is immediately invested in the chase as a storyteller, providing much of the novel’s perspective. Interludes in which Mann reflects with a friendly monk, Lama Chinchinanaga, break up the narrative as Mann drily muses about the implications of the text and whether the pope will want it to see the light of day.
A somewhat repetitive yarn brimming with theological musings for readers with an interest in Christian philosophy.Pub Date: April 20, 2025
ISBN: 9781964251561
Page Count: 300
Publisher: Illumify Media Global
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.
A love story about a life of second chances.
In Nassau, in the Bahamas, casino detective Vincent LaPorta grills Alfie Logan, who’d come up a winner three times in a row at the roulette table and walked away with $2 million. “How did you do it?” asks the detective. Alfie calmly denies cheating. You wired all the money to a Gianna Rule, LaPorta says. Why? To explain, Alfie produces a composition book with the words “For the Boss, to Be Read Upon My Death” written on the cover. Read this for answers, Alfie suggests, calling it a love story. His mother had passed along to him a strange trait: He can say “Twice!” and go back to a specific time and place to have a do-over. But it only works once for any particular moment, and then he must live with the new consequences. He can only do this for himself and can’t prevent anyone from dying. Alfie regularly uses his power—failing to impress a girl the first time, he finds out more about her, goes back in time, and presto! She likes him. The premise is of course not credible—LaPorta doesn’t buy it either—but it’s intriguing. Most people would probably love to go back and unsay something. The story’s focus is on Alfie’s love for Gianna and whether it’s requited, unrequited, or both. In any case, he’s obsessed with her. He’s a good man, though, an intelligent person with ordinary human failings and a solid moral compass. Albom writes in a warm, easy style that transports the reader to a world of second chances and what-ifs, where spirituality lies close to the surface but never intrudes on the story. Though a cynic will call it sappy, anyone who is sick to their core from the daily news will enjoy this escape from reality.
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780062406682
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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