Genre
General Fiction, Thriller, Novella
Audience
Adult
Author’s Worldview
Catholic
Year Published
2021
Themes
Death, Justice, Mercy, Forgiveness, Salvation, Priesthood, Redemption, Last Rites, Vocation, Death Row, Criminal Justice,

Reviewed by

A.R.K. Watson
In the first book we met Father Jacob, an ageing priest working to save the souls of death row inmates. Although he is close to the end of his life he felt called to minister to heartless killer for hire, Carl Jarrold. Now that Jarrold’s is fate sealed, Father Jacob is left to deal with the consequences of book one. Not everyone is enthusiastic about his enthusiasm to show love and compassion to death row killers. Chief among these critics are the families of the killer’s victims. Even worse, his friend, prison guard, Tomás Flores, might be about to lose his job because he helped the old priest. Carl Jarrold’s story came to it’s conclusion but now Fr. Jacob and Tomás are left to face the music. But even apart from the trouble man has in store for them, they aren’t prepared for what God is going to ask them to do next. 

This book is a direct sequel to book one and not a stand-alone story. Readers will get the most enjoyment out of it if they read the Three Last Things stories sequentially. Catholics and other Christians are the intended audience, but I think secular readers will find much reason to cheer on Fr. Jacob and Tomás, particularly as part of Fr. Jacob’s story involves some rather blunt criticism of hypocritical attitudes among Christians. Like the first novella, this story is as thought-provoking as it is fast-paced and thrilling. It will cause you to ask yourself just how far you’d be willing to go to love your neighbor.

Themes of vocation and the priesthood are prominent in this book. Catholics will especially find the deeply personal exploration of Fr. Jacob’s vocation to be moving. Other Christians should also enjoy the story and find its meditations on the costs of loving thy neighbor to be edifying. Secular readers will find nothing objectionable but the true audience for this story is a Christian one.

This is a quick and exciting read that will also make you feel and think deeply. At the end of the novella we are reminded that death is never the end of our stories and while there isn’t a cliffhanger ending, readers will be eagerly awaiting the third installment to see what happens next.

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