The Grey Wolf(Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Number 19), Louise Penny. Minotaur Books (ISBN: 9781250328144) 2024.
Summary: Gamache, Jean-Guy, and Isabelle seek to avert a plotted catastrophe, trusting no one but each other.
It was worth the wait. It’s been two years since the last in the Gamache series, Penny taking a year off. The result was a riveting, edge-of-the seat work involving a scary plot in which tens of thousands could die.
It all begins on a quiet August Sunday, interrupted by a series of phone calls to Gamache’s private line. Finally, he picks it up, listens, says “Go to hell,” and hangs up. Not a wrong number but a wrong person, Jeanne Caron, responsible for adding to the suffering of Gamache’s son Daniel as a payback for Gamache’s refusing to bend the law for a political favor. She wanted to meet and called on a number known only to family and friends.
Then more strange things occur. While at the bistro, the alarm goes off to a flat they owned in Montreal. It appeared to be a faulty sensor. Leaving the bistro, Gamache sees a man who is vaguely familiar. At the Montreal flat, nothing was amiss. Except for a jacket, mailed back to Gamache with a cryptic list of herbs in the pocket and a request to meet at a cafe.
A man shows up for the meeting, a freelance biologist with a drug-abusing past. He hints at a terrible plot but leaves it to Gamache to figure out. As they leave the cafe, a driver heads toward them. Gamache leaps to save a grandfather and grandchild. The biologist is killed.
All this sets Gamache and his team in pursuit of the killers, one of whom they find executed, and what Langlois, the biologist, was trying to tell him. But it quickly becomes apparent that Gamache can only trust Jean-Guy and Isabelle. Thus, who is friend and who is enemy is not clear. For example, even his superior, the woman Gamache recommended when he stepped down from the position, is suspect. And Jeanne Caron? Why did she call?
And that familiar man at the bistro? It was none other than the abbot of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, Dom Phillippe (see book eight). But this was no random visit. He leaves a message for Gamache at the village church, a piece of paper connected to the paper in his jacket pocket. And a bottle of Chartreuse at the bistro.
This leads a hair-raising flight to the remote location of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups. No Dom Phillippe but they find a map from Langlois. Meanwhile Isabelle travels to DC, the Vatican and an abbey in France. And Gamache continues to search for notebooks Langlois left behind, increasingly convinced that what Langlois died trying to warn him about was a plot to poison Montreal’s water supply.
Not able to trust insiders in the Surete, Gamache goes outside. For example, he offers dirt on himself to a blogger hostile to him for her investigative efforts. He gains the trust of the crusty Mission director, where Langlois sought refuge for a time. The pattern of reaching out to those on the margins, those discounted by others, continues.
But will their fevered efforts be in time and enough? And who is behind this plot? And why? Penny keeps us turning the pages to find out.
The residents of Three Pines play a supporting role to Gamache’s family, sheltering in Three Pines, but little more. Given the focus of the plot, there is little room for development of these characters. That said, Ruth acts totally in character. There are indications of a deepening rapprochement between Daniel and Armand.
And the title? Wolves turn up at several places but key is a story Armand tell Jean-Guy about Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, which means Saint Gilbert Between the Wolves. It comes from a story a Cree chief told the first abbot about two wolves inside us, a grey and black one, the first strong, compassionate, and wise. the second, cruel and cunning. The question is, which wolf will win? The answer: the one we feed. In this book, we learn of a grey wolf. And in the after matter, we learn that Penny’s next book, in 2025, is titled The Black Wolf. So, strap in folks, for more good reading ahead!
For Gamache readers, if you want to refresh your memory of the preceding books (and especially book 8, The Beautiful Mystery), you might find my blog post, The Reviews: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Series, helpful.
Ngaio Marsh by Henry Herbert Clifford ca 1935, crop. Public Domain
New Zealand-born Ngaio Marsh gained renown as one of the four Queens of Crime. She was part of a group of women along with Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, and Margery Allingham who began writing in the 1930’s, during the Golden Age of detective fiction. Her last work was published in the year of her death, 1982. She is best known for her Inspector Roderick Alleyn mysteries of which she wrote 32. She also loved theatre and directed theatrical productions and this love shows up in some of her books. There is one more work published under her name, with co-author Stella Duffy in 2018, not included in this listing.
I read the Alleyn series over several years, delighted in this gentlemanly detective, and his artist wife, Troy. I intend this both as a resource for Marsh fans as well as an overview of her work. In nearly all cases, I reviewed from the Felony & Mayhem republications of her work, often available at a discount. I’ve listed the publication info for my review with a link to the publisher in the title and a link in the word “review” to my full review. I should note that my reviews include plot summaries but hopefully not spoilers giving away the conclusion Enjoy!
The Reviews
A Man Lay Dead, (Roderick Alleyn 1), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2011 (originally published in 1934). Sir Hubert Handesley hosts one of his famous weekend parties and Nigel Bathgate, a young reporter is invited to join his cousin Charles Rankin for the weekend’s entertainment, the Murder Game, which becomes serious when Rankin turns up the corpse–for real! Review
Enter a Murderer(Roderick Alleyn 2), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2012 (originally published in 1935). Invited to see a play with his sidekick Bathgate, Alleyn actually witnesses the murder he will investigate. Review
The Nursing Home Murder, Ngaio Marsh (Roderick Alleyn 3). New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2011 (originally published in 1935). The Home Secretary collapses of acute appendicitis during a speech on a key bill against radicals and is taken to a private hospital of an old doctor friend for emergency surgery, dying under suspicious circumstances soon after the operation. Review
Death in Ecstasy (Roderick Alleyn 4), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2012 (originally published in 1936). Nigel Bathgate happens upon the strange religious rites at the House of the Sacred Flame just in time to witness the death of Cara Quayne, the Chosen Vessel, when she imbibes a chalice of wine laced with cyanide. Review
Vintage Murder (Roderick Alleyn 5), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2012 (first published in 1937). Alleyn falls in with a theatre company while in New Zealand and discovers that neither murder nor police work take a vacation. Review
Artists in Crime, (Roderick Alleyn 6), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2012 (originally published in 1937). A murder occurs at the studio of artist Agatha Troy, who Alleyn had met on his voyage back to England; the beginning in fits and starts of a romance while Alleyn seeks to solve the crime. Review
Death in a White Tie (Alleyn 7), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2012. At a premiere debutante ball, Lord Robert Gospell’s call to Alleyn about a blackmail conspiracy is interrupted. A few hours later, Gospell turns up at Scotland Yard in the back of a taxi–dead! Review
Overture to Murder (Roderick Alleyn 8), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2012, (Originally published in 1939). A comedic play in a small village to raise funds for the church to buy a new piano turns into a murder mystery when the pianist is shot when playing the opening notes of the prelude by a gun concealed within. Review
Death at the Bar(Roderick Alleyn 9), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2013 (first published in 1940). A holiday at a secluded seaside inn, and a challenge at darts ends up in murder from prussic acid (cyanide). Review
Death of a Peer (Surfeit of Lampreys) Roderick Alleyn 10), Ngaio Marsh. New York, Harper Collins: New York, 2009. A New Zealander’s visit to a happy-go-lucky English family is interrupted by the gruesome murder of Lord Charles’ brother in the elevator serving their flat, making the family prime suspects for Scotland Yard detective Roderick Alleyn. Review
Death and the Dancing Footman (Roderick Alleyn 11), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2012 (originally published in 1941). A staged house-party amid a snowstorm consisting of mutual enemies ends in a death and a suicide that Alleyn must sort out. Review
Colour Scheme (Roderick Alleyn 12), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2013 (first published in 1943). A struggling New Zealand spa by some sulphur springs becomes the scene of espionage, the visit of a famous stage actor, and murder. Review
Died in the Wool (Roderick Alleyn 13), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2014 (originally published in 1945). New Zealand member of Parliament Flossie Rubrick is found dead, concealed in a bale of wool from her farm, and Alleyn, working in counter-espionage during the war, comes to investigate because of secret research on the farm. Review
Final Curtain (Inspector Alleyn 14), Ngaio Marsh. New York, Felony & Mayhem Press, 2014 (originally published in 1947. While Inspector Alleyn is returning from wartime service in New Zealand, Troy Alleyn, his artist wife is commissioned on short notice to paint a portrait of Sir Henry Ancred, a noteworthy stage actor, meeting his dramatic family, encountering some practical jokes including one that infuriates Sir Henry at his birthday dinner, after which he is found dead the next morning. Inspector Alleyn arrives home to investigate a possible murder in which his wife is an interested party. Review
Swing, Brother, Jones (Inspector Alleyn 15), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2012 (originally published in 1949). An eccentric British Lord joins a swing band for a number that involves a gun, and the person at whom he shoots is actually killed with an unusual projectile–a knitting needle–right in front of Alleyn! Review
Night at the Vulcan, (Roderick Alleyn 16), Ngaio Marsh. New York Felony & Mayhem, 2014, originally published in 1951. An actor is found dead in the actor’s dressing room at the end of a play. It seems to be suicide by gas asphyxiation, but Alleyn finds clues pointing to murder by someone in the company. Review
Spinsters in Jeopardy(Inspector Alleyn 17), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2014 (first published in 1953). Alleyn takes his family along to visit a distant cousin in southern France while collaborating with the French in investigating a drug ring. Review
Scales of Justice(Roderick Alleyn 18), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2014 (first published in 1955). An aristocrat in a small village turns up dead by a trout stream with a trout at his side. Review
Death of a Fool(Roderick Alleyn 19), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2014 (originally published in 1957). A fertility dance culminating in a ritual beheading of a fool, followed by his resurrection, ends with the fool having been truly decapitated. Review
Singing in the Shrouds (Roderick Alleyn 20), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2014 (originally published in 1958). Alleyn joins a ship bound for Cape Town seeking a serial murderer, one of nine passengers. Review
False Scent (Roderick Alleyn 21), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2015 (originally published in 1959). The fiftieth birthday celebration of famed stage actress Mary Bellamy is interrupted when she is found dead in her bedroom, poisoned by her own insecticide. Review
Hand in Glove(Roderick Alleyn 22), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2015 (originally published in 1962). An April Fool’s scavenger hunt organized by Lady Bantling ends badly when a body is found under a drainage pipe in a ditch. Review
Dead Water (Roderick Alleyn 23), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2015 (originally published in 1963). A spring on an island celebrated for its healing powers becomes the site of the murder. Review
Killer Dolphin(Inspector Alleyn 24), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2015 (originally published in 1966). Through an accident, a playwright realizes his dream of a renovated Dolphin Theatre, with packed houses for one of his plays, until a murder occurs and a boy actor is badly injured in a botched theft. Review
A Clutch of Constables(Roderick Alleyn 25), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2015 (originally published in 1968). Troy takes a spur-of-the-moment river cruise only to learn that her berth had belonged to a man murdered by an international criminal, who happens to be on the cruise with her! Review
When in Rome (Roderick Alleyn 26), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2015. Alleyn goes undercover on a Roman holiday tour led by a sketchy tour guide suspected of drug smuggling and other corrupt activities and ends up collaborating in a murder investigation. Review
Tied Up in Tinsel (Roderick Alleyn 27), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2015 (Originally published in 1972). Hilary Bill-Talsman is the subject of a Troy portrait and host of a Christmas house party that includes a Druid Pageant, marred when the chief Druid disappears. Alleyn arrives from overseas just in time to solve the mystery. Review
Black as He’s Painted (Roderick Alleyn 28), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2015 (originally published in 1974). The President of Ng’ombwana is coming to England. A man with known enemies, his old school friend Alleyn attempts to persuade him to accept Special Branch protection but fails to prevent a murder at an embassy reception. Review
Last Ditch(Roderick Alleyn 29), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2016 (originally published in 1976). Alleyn and Troy’s son Ricky finds himself in the middle of a murder of a young horsewoman and gets mixed up with a group of drug runners when all he wants to do is get away on a Channel island and write. Review
A Grave Mistake (Roderick Alleyn 30), Ngaio Marsh. New York, Felony & Mayhem Press, 2016 (originally published in 1978). A wealthy widow in a small English village dies of an apparent suicide at an exclusive spa, but clues point to murder with a circle of suspects with motives. Review
Photo Finish(Roderick Alleyn 31), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2016 (originally published in 1980). A New Zealand trip for Alleyn and Troy goes sideways when Isabella Sommita, a soprano and diva is murdered after she debuts a badly written opera composed by her latest love interest. Review
Light Thickens(Roderick Alleyn 32), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2016 (originally published in 1982). Set once again at the Dolphin theatre as Peregrine Jay stages Macbeth, a play surrounded by superstition, a production plagued by macabre practical jokes, and the real murder of the title character discovered just after the play’s climactic scene, with Alleyn in the front row. Review
I discovered in compiling this list that somehow I had skipped one, #18. Oh joy! That means another Alleyn to read. I will add the review when I’ve read it. For others who have read the series, I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane. I sure did!
Update: After compiling this list, I read Scales of Justice, and have added the review!
Two mysteries by Ngaio Marsh. Books by an Ann and an Anne. Two excellent novels by Zafon and Patchett. David Grann’s riveting account of the Osage murders and Roger Angell’s elegant essays on baseball. Poetry, fantasy, and essays on what matters most. Theology on Paul, the Trinity, God’s emotions, and from an Asian-American perspective. A new edition of a classic work by Dorothy L. Sayers, a shorter piece on why we get out of bed, and a surprisingly good collection of Christian poetry. So many delightful reads this month! Part of what I love about this blog is the chance to share them with you. So here they are.
The Apostle and the Empire, Christoph Heilig (foreword by John M. G. Barclay). Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2022. Focusing on 2 Corinthians 2:14, Heilig argues for an alternative to either hidden or unexpressed criticism of the empire in Paul’s writings, proposing that we might also consider texts that have been overlooked. Review
The Trinity in the Book of Revelation(Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture), Brandon D. Smith (Foreword by Lewis Ayers). Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2022. A Trinitarian reading of Revelation, drawing upon the insights of the pro-Nicene fathers to elucidate John’s vision both of the One God and the working of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Review
Photo Finish(Roderick Alleyn #31), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2016 (originally published in 1980). A New Zealand trip for Alleyn and Troy goes sideways when Isabella Sommita, a soprano and diva is murdered after she debuts a badly written opera composed by her latest love interest. Review
The Emotions of God, David T. Lamb. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 2022. A study of the emotional language used of God in scripture, considering seven emotions spoken of both in Old and New Testaments. Review
Why the Gospel?, Matthew W. Bates (Foreword by Scot McKnight). Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2023. Instead of asking what the gospel is, explores why has God made this proclamation of good news, centering on the kingship of Jesus and what this means for those who place allegiance in him. Review
The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Translated by Lucia Graves). New York: Penguin Books, 2005. Daniel Sempere’s life is changed when he finds a mysterious book in the Cemetery of Lost Books, and embarks on a quest to learn the true story of its mysterious author, one that places him in great peril. Review
Things That Matter Most, Christopher de Vinck. Brewster: MA: Paraclete Press, 2022. A collection of essays that remind us that the things that matter most are as close as the beauty of things around us from fireflies, to Fred Rogers, to friends and family, and to the tip of our fingers. Review
On Getting Out of Bed, Alan Noble. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2023. Written for those whose experience of life or mental state make even getting out of bed a challenge, offering encouragement that even this is courageous and testifies to the goodness of God, and of life. Review
Divine Love Theory, Adam Lloyd Johnson. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2023. Proposes that the love within the Trinity serves as the objective basis and foundation for living moral lives and engages the competing atheist theory of Erik Weilenberg proposing an objective basis for morality apart from God.Review
Season Ticket, Roger Angell. New York: Open Road Media, 2013 (originally published in 1988). A collection of essays covering the 1982 to 1987 seasons, from spring training to the drama of the championships, and all the skills of players and managers and owners required to compete at the major league level. Review
Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann. New York: Doubleday, 2017. The true crime account of a series of murders of Osage tribal people motivated by money and the FBI agent who arrested some of the major figures involved in the deaths. Review
You Are Us, Gareth Gwyn. Austin: River Grove Books, 2023. An account using case studies showing how self-understanding and inner work allows individuals to become leaders in healing polarized relationships. Review
Christian Poetry in America Since 1940, Edited by Micah Mattix and Sally Thomas. Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2022. An anthology of poetry written by a wide variety of poets who identify as Christian, born between 1940 and 1989. Review
The Dutch House, Ann Patchett. New York: HarperCollins, 2019. Two siblings, Maeve and Danny, seek to come to terms with past losses of parents, and their childhood home, a striking three-story home built by a Dutch couple. Review
Mossflower(Redwall #2), Brian Jacques. New York: Avon Books, 1988. A prequel to Redwall,narrating the quest of Martin the Warrior and his companions to deliver Mossflower from the attack of the cruel wildcat Tsarmina, ruling from the fortress Kotir, next to Mossflower Wood. Review
Doing Asian-American Theology, Daniel D. Lee. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2022. A book laying out a framework for doing Asian-American theology considering both the shared and diverse cultural contexts of Asian-American peoples. Review
Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage, Anne Lamott. New York: Riverhead Books, 2021. An exploration of the values that sustain us when we see a world as well as our own bodies falling apart. Review
The Man Born to be King (Wade Annotated Edition), Dorothy L. Sayers, edited by Kathryn Wehr. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2023. A new annotated edition of Sayers’ cycle of twelve plays on the life of Christ. Review
Death of a Fool(Roderick Alleyn #19), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2014 (originally published in 1957). A fertility dance culminating in a ritual beheading of a fool, followed by his resurrection, ends with the fool having been truly decapitated. Review
Best of the Month: Dorothy L. Sayers The Man Born to Be King cycle of twelve radio dramas on the life of Christ, along with C. S. Lewis’s lectures on “mere” Christianity, helped sustain England during the depths of the Second World War. Now, Kathryn Wehr has edited a wonderful new edition of these plays with helpful introductions to each play and annotations throughout on the original text including Sayers’ Introduction, notes for each play and the text of the plays. An invaluable resource for Sayers’ scholars and lovers, and for any who want to explore her imaginative exploration of the life of Jesus the King, using the vernacular of her day. This is a tour de force!
Quote of the Month: Christopher de Vinck, in What Matters Most, made this probing observation to students he was teaching in a literature course on finding themselves in the literature they read:
“When we know who we are we can build a life upon wisdom, love, and compassion, and set the footprint of our lives firmly onto the earth for others to find who need the evidence and the inheritance of goodness as a guide for the future. When we know what matters most, we know where we are going” (p. 18).
What I’m Reading. I just finished Lies My Teacher Told Me. Written in the mid-Nineties, it reminds me that whitewashing American history is not just a current political fad but something we have been doing for a long time. The Language of the Soul by Jeff Crosby is a literate reflection on ten of our deepest longings. Alicia Britt Chole’s The Night is Normal is a deep dive into how we handle disillusionment. A Bond Between Souls is a scholarly study of Augustine on friendship, based on his letters to his friends. The Buster Clan, inspired by genealogical work, studies one Virginia family’s history, the Busters/Bustards, through American history. I’ve just put Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore on my reading pile. I’ll let you know what I think–I’ve not read him before. I’m also in the middle of two books for book clubs. Carmen Joy Imes Being God’s Image explores what it means that we were made as images of God. Matthew Lynch’s Flood and Fury explores God’s acts both in the flood and the invasion of Canaan resulting in great loss of life.
I’m looking forward to the more relaxed schedule of summer to enjoy these and other books on my TBR pile. As always, would love to hear what you are reading!
The Month in Reviews is my monthly review summary going back to 2014!It’s a great way to browse what I’ve reviewed. The search box on this blog also works well if you are looking for a review of a particular book.
With a few weeks left in the year I’ve reviewed 175 books in 2019. The list that follows is my judgment of the best of many good books I read during 2019. Many of these were published in 2019 but some in earlier years. One unusual category I included this year is books on writing because of two standout books I read in this category. With that, here is my list:
Best of the Year:
The Crucifixion, Fleming Rutledge. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017. Fleming Rutledge wrote a long, deep book on the meaning of the death of Christ that I read through the season of Lent this year. She distills it to two critical truths: 1. God’s definitive action in making vicarious atonement for sin and 2. God’s decisive victory over the alien Powers of Sin and Death. This book is both one of the most well-written and theologically profound books I’ve read in the last ten years.
Literary Fiction:
The Dearly Beloved, Cara Wall. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2019. This was a debut work reminiscent of the writing of Marilynne Robinson about two pastors and their wives who share in the ministry of a New York City during the turbulent Sixties, the different ways each approaches their faith, and the challenge of coming to terms with their differences. Review
A World Lost, Wendell Berry. Berkeley: Counterpoint Press, 2008. (no publisher’s webpage available). I’ve long been a Wendell Berry fan, and this book only confirmed my appreciation for his work, as he explores how a family, including a young boy, comes to terms when a family member is suddenly and violently taken away from them. Review
Crime Fiction:
This was the year I discovered writers of crime fiction I really liked: James Lee Burke, and C.J. Box, and their characters Dave Robicheaux and Joe Pickett. Different characters, vastly different settings, but great reads.
Wolf Pack(Joe Pickett #19), C. J. Box. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2019. A pack of four contract killers from a Mexican drug cartel threaten to take over Pickett’s town in pursuit of a former kingpin now in witness protection. Review
Robicheaux(Dave Robicheaux #21), James Lee Burke. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2018. Robicheaux tries to navigate his way through grief from the tragic death of his wife, his friend’s debt issues, a mobster wanting to make a movie, a demagogic politician and a serial murderer, while trying to clear himself of suspicion in the death of the man who killed his wife. Review
Memoirs:
Educated, Tara Westover. New York: Random House, 2018. In last year’s version of this list, I predicted that this would be on the 2019 list. Like many others, I found riveting Westover’s memoir of growing up with survivalist Mormon parents in rural Idaho, suffering abuse from other family members, and her passion to learn that took her ultimately to Cambridge. Review
Perfectly Human, Sarah C. Williams. Walden, NY: Plough Publishing, 2018. A professor and her husband face a pre-natal diagnosis of fatal birth defects, decide to carry their daughter to term, describe their discussions with family and friends, and the larger issues their decision raised for them. Review
Biographies:
Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, David W. Blight. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2018. This was a magnificent biography of an escaped slave who relentlessly fought for the freedom of his people. Review
The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers, Maxwell King. New York: Abrams Press, 2018. After reading this account of Fred Rogers, I wrote: “King’s book, and this story in particular, suggests to me that Rogers was a modern St. Francis. He came from wealth, and yet lived simply. He pursued a calling, a ministry with a singleness of vision that seemed strange to some at times, and yet had its own peculiar power to form the character and self-worth of children. He sang and spoke through puppets, fed fish, and met us on screen in homely cardigans. To read about him is to be elevated, and to ask oneself, ‘am I a good neighbor?’ ” Review
History:
The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation, Brenda Wineapple. New York: Random House, 2019. Wineapple’s careful historical account of the impeachment of Andrew Johnson demonstrates why impeachment is as yet unproven as a remedy for removing presidents accused of abusing the powers of their office. Review
Fearfully and Wonderfully: The Marvel of Bearing God’s Image (Updated and combined edition), Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2019. Brand explores the wonders of the human body, and parallels these wonders with the body of Christ. Review
Losing Earth: A Recent History, Nathaniel Rich. MCD/Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2019. Nathaniel Rich reminded me that we’ve long known the science of climate change, that at one time political parties agreed on the need for action, but allowed fossil fuel interests to polarize the parties and the country. Rich traces that history. Review
Higher Education:
Religion in the University, Nicholas Wolterstorff. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019. Wolterstorff proposes a cogent argument that in a pluralist university public square, religious perspectives ought be welcomed along with others. Review
Fundamentalist U: Keeping Faith in American Higher Education, Adam Laats. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. A study of eight flagship fundamentalist/evangelical institutions over the last century, their evolution, and the outsized influence they have had on American society. Review
Writing:
Write Better, Andrew T. LePeau. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2019. A former editor describes the craft, art, and spirituality of writing well, or at least better with wit, examples, and practicality. Review
Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing, Robert A. Caro. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2019. A writer of magnificent biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson describes his practices of research and writing. Review
Theological Works:
The Violence of the Biblical God, L. Daniel Hawk, foreword by John Goldingay. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2019. Hawk takes on the hard question of the involvement of God in violence, listening to the different voices in scripture to arrive at a singular proposal. Review
The Gospel According to Eve, Amanda W. Benckhuysen. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2019. Benckhuysen collects the writing of sixty women from the fourth century to the present on Genesis 1-3, and some of the distinctive contributions they make on how women and men ought live together. Review
Devotional Works:
Inexpressible, Michael Card. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2018. Card studies the use of the Hebrew word hesed, often translated as lovingkindness. In my review, I wrote:
To read this book was to allow God to thaw my heart, reminding me of the everything I have so undeservingly received. To read this book was to clear the fog from my eyes, to give me at least a glimpse of the inexpressible beauty of the God of hesed. Finally, to read this book was to stir my will, my hands, my feet, to think about the places where I might repair the world through the loving-kindness of hesed. Review
Three Hours: Sermons for Good Friday, Fleming Rutledge. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2019. Seven short sermons on the seven last words of Christ on the cross. I read this on Good Friday of this year, a profound reflection on the meaning of Jesus’ last words on the cross. Review
So there is my list. It reflects that I work in collegiate ministry, write, love history and biography, and a good story. I think those of you who follow this blog have similar, but not identical interests. Picking these out of the 175 was a challenge. I could have included so many others. Even the 175 is but a tiny fraction of the books published this year. I’m aware that there were a number of other outstanding works. These were works I found life-giving, informative, and diverting by turn. I think you will as well.
