Ngaio Marsh’s Roderick Alleyn Mysteries

July 31, 2024September 1, 2024 / rtrube54 / 3 Comments

Image of Ngaio Marsh, from a photograph by Henry Herbert Clifford, circa 1935 — 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. Rev i ew

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! Rev i ew

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. Rev i ew

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!

The Month in Reviews: April 2023

May 1, 2023August 30, 2025 / rtrube54 / Leave a comment

This month’s reads stretched as far back as Augustine and to a review of a book posted on the date of the book’s publication. I reviewed mysteries by two of the Queens of Crime, a biography of the person once named the “most trusted man in America” and a memoir of stories by one of our most prolific authors. I enjoyed a devotional book of “reflections” on the Psalms, a work by Frederick Buechner on becoming attentive to God in the ordinary, and Os Guinness’s latest, on the signals we encounter in life that point us to “something more.” There are two novels her with pandemics in the backdrop–one imagined and one very real. Along the way were books reconsidering the social status of women, a book re-casting our vision of masculinity post-“Purity culture,” a book on the significance of the resurrection, and an inspiring book on intercessory prayer groups. As always, the link in the title takes you to the publisher’s website and the link marked “Review” takes you to the full review of the book.

Finding Phoebe, Susan E. Hylen. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2023. A careful examination of the social status of women in the New Testament world, challenging many of our preconceptions of women in the early church. Review

Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel. New York: Knopf, 2014. An account of the end of civilization as we know it after a catastrophic pandemic, and how survivors sought to keep beauty and the memory of what was alive as they struggled against destructive forces to rebuild human society. Review

The Hope of Life After Death (Essential Studies in Biblical Theology), M. Jeff Brannon. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2022. A study of the hope for life after death throughout scripture and the significance of the resurrection for the believer. Review

Endless Grace: Prayers Inspired By The Psalms, Ryan Whitaker Smith & Dan Wilt. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2023. Prayers in free verse inspired, psalm by psalm, from Psalm 76 to Psalm 150, responding with ideas from the whole of scripture as well as literature. Review

Non-Toxic Masculinity, Zachary Wagner. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2023. Focusing on the distortions of male sexuality coming out of the purity culture movement, charts what a healthy male sexuality might look like that is responsible, selfless, and loving. 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

The Remarkable Ordinary, Frederick Buechner. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017. A collection of essays drawn from two lecture series, focusing on our attention to the ordinary around us, and in so doing becoming attentive to our own lives and the working of God in them. Review

Augustine: On Christian Doctrine and Selected Introductory Works (Theological Foundations), Augustine (edited by Timothy George). Nashville: B & H Academic, 2022. Four works on Christian doctrine, written in the context of catechesis, by Augustine. Review

Signals of Transcendence, Os Guinness. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2023. The stories of people who have experienced signs or promptings that there is more to life awakening them to pursue the unseen realities beyond the signal. Review

Cronkite, Douglas Brinkley. New York: Harper, 2012. The biography of Walter Cronkite, from his early reporting days, his United Press work during World War 2, and his years at CBS, including his nineteen years on the CBS Evening News, and his “retirement years,” where he came out as a liberal. Review

Epic Science, Ancient Faith, D. E. Gunther. Ellensburg, WA: Truth in Creation, 2022. A discussion of essential attitudes in making sense of both God’s Word and God’s world with two case studies and a discussion of how we resolve differences between these two “books” of God. Review

A Caribbean Mystery (Miss Marple #9), Agatha Christie. New York, Morrow, 2022 (originally published in 1964). A Caribbean holiday after an illness is just what the doctor ordered for Miss Marple, who helps solve a string of murders at a resort. Review

The Power of Group Prayer, Carolyn Carney. Downers Grove: IVP/Formatio, 2022. A practical guide for intercessory prayer groups, casting vision for how these may transform both the intercessors and their world. Review

Lucy by the Sea, Elizabeth Strout. New York: Random House, 2022. Lucy Barton goes with her ex-husband William to a house on the coast of Maine during the COVID lockdown of 2020. Review

Humble Confidence, Benno van den Toren and Kang-San Tan. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2022. A model of dialogical apologetics for a multi-faith world committed to accountable and embodied witness that is culturally sensitive, holistic, and yet centered in Christ. Review

Christianity and Critical Race Theory, Robert Chao Romero and Jeff M. Liou. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2023. A critical and constructive engagement with Critical Race Theory in light of the Christian faith. Review

James Patterson by James Patterson, James Patterson. New York: Little, Brown, and Company. 2022. The life of this storyteller in a series of stories, arranged roughly in chronological order. Review

The Way of Perfection, St. Teresa of Avila, Foreword by Paula Huston, Translated by Henry L Carrigan, Jr. Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2009. St Theresa’s reflections on growing in love, humility, and the life of prayer. Review

The Art of the Commonplace, Wendell Berry, edited and introduced by Norman Wirzba. Berkeley: Counterpoint, 2002. Twenty essays articulating an agrarian vision for society that offers health to land, food, and the wider society. Review

Best Book of the Month: Robert Chao Romero and Jeff Liou have given us what I think is the most balanced discussion I’ve encountered of Critical Race Theory from a Christian perspective in Christianity and Critical Race Theory. Both are evangelicals who are persons of color and their book also offers a perspective of how the increasingly politicized discussion of CRT is perceived among Christians who are people of color. The book actually uses the Reformed rubric of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation in its consideration of Critical Race Theory and helpfully distinguishes at a number of points what CRT is and isn’t.

Quote of the Month: Theresa of Avila offers uncommon wisdom in The Way of Perfection in responding to what we consider unjust criticism:

“No one can ever blame us unjustly, since we are always full of faults, and a just person falls seven times a day. It would be a falsehood to say that we have no sin. Even if we are not guilty of the thing we are accused of, then, we are never entirely without blame in the way that our good Jesus was” (p. 57).

What I’m Reading: I have two books awaiting review that I’ve finished reading. One is Christoph Heilig’s The Apostle and Empire. There is a whole discussion on whether there is a hidden subtext in the Pauline epistles critical of the Roman empire. His proposal, focusing on one passage, is that at least in this instance, it may not be so much hidden as overlooked. The Trinity in the Book of Revelation studies the Trinitarian theology in Revelation, using the lens of the Nicene formulations to look at these texts, which the author argues helps elucidate rather than read into the emerging Trinitarian theology of Revelation. As far as current reads, I’m enjoying David Lamb’s The Emotions of God, which studies seven emotions of God in the Bible and what these mean for our idea of God. I just began Matthew Bates Why the Gospel? He observes that we often begin with forgiveness when he would content that the good news begins with King Jesus. Christopher de Vinck’s Things That Matter Most: Essays on Home, Friendship, and Love is just that and includes a wonderful essay on his friendship with Fred Rogers. I’ve heard good things about Carlos Ruiz Zafon and am immersed in his The Shadow of the Wind in which a young man acquires a book by this title that he falls in love with but in trying to learn the story of its author learns he has one of the last copies, which are being relentlessly pursued and burned by a sinister character. Finally, I continue to work my way somewhat haphazardly through Ngaio Marsh’s mysteries, currently reading a later work, Photo Finish, in which he and Troy once again are caught up in a murder investigation set on a lavish island getaway.

As you can see, my reading is pretty hard to pigeonhole. Hopefully that means that there might be something you can find that you will like in this month’s digest of my reviews. Also, I’m always interested in hearing what others who read books I’ve reviewed think, especially if you read it because of my review. Whether you agree or not, I’d love to hear from you!

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.

Bob on Books Best Books of 2019

December 20, 2019September 5, 2025 / rtrube54 / 1 Comment

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

Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man, Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018. This is a wonderfully told story of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis by a Japanese submarine at the end of World War Two, the five day struggle for survival that took the lives of nearly two-thirds of those who made it into the water, and the fifty-year effort to exonerate her court-martialed captain. Review

Science-related:

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.