A.D. 30

The reigning king of Christian thrillers expands into biblical fiction to explore the time and teachings of Christ. Maviah, the illegitimate daughter of a Bedouin king, is sent to Egypt and enslaved. When she has a baby with a man her mistress loves, she is returned to her family in double shame. Raiding enemies kill Maviah’s son and capture her father, so she journeys to seek an audience with King Herod in the hopes that he will avenge her son and rescue her father. Traveling with two of her father’s male slaves, she crosses paths with another man, Yeshua, who has a more profound impact on their actions than Herod ever could. Maviah’s viewpoint is used to narrate the action, including her meetings with Yeshua and long conversations that weave Christ’s gospel teachings into the story in clever ways. The author paints vivid scenes of desert crossings on camels, aristocratic life in ancient Palestine, and the private doings of kings and queens. In this first of a pair of novels about Jesus, Dekker kicks down the door of biblical fiction. Agency: Creative Trust. (Nov.)