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.

Brave Water by Sarah Robsdottir

What if you had to risk your life for a simple cup of water?

The Blackbird and Other Stories By Sally Thomas

How does the human heart cope and soar from within breakage?

Feel-Good Books For Pandemic Summer

Book Therapy to chase the blues away

A Truly Clawful Christmas By Corinna Turner

Father Benedict must learn to embrace the adrenaline rush if he’s going to survive being a rural priest living alongside dinosaurs.

Coven (Book 7 of St. Tommy Series): By Declan Finn

St. Tommy fights the CPS and a group of pagans who have taken over a military base.

Hussar by Declan Finn (St. Tommy NYPD Book 8)

It’s been a few years since St. Tommy saved the world. Now his son Jeremy and ward Lena have joined the fight.

The Destiny of Sunshine Ranch by T.M. Gaouette

A foster kid learns that sometimes the scariest part of life is accepting love.

Zeal & Zest: Where to Begin with Hillaire Belloc

Belloc was known as a Catholic polemicist with a vicious talent for skewering his opponents. Anyone struggling to persevere as a Christian in the fields of journalism or media should read him. His children’s books have an acerbic humor that will appeal to bored veterans of political correctness, especially teens.

Champion of the Poor: Father Joe Walijewski by Voyage Comics

Meet the priest who spread the love of God in Peru.

The Lion’s Heart by Dena Hunt

A deep, honest story of emotional struggle, temptation, and sacrifice.

Beneath Wandering Stars by Ashlee Cowles

A young girl goes pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago on behalf of her brother and finds her place in the world.

The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene

“Virtue, the good life, tempted him in the dark like a sin.”

The Dunes by A.R.K. Watson

“The Dunes” raises questions that are relevant in any marriage: not just for the creepy, otherworldly couple who venture onto a lonely island to set up camp near prehistoric sand dunes for the last time.

Anyone But Him by Theresa Linden

What if you woke up one day and didn’t recognize the person you were sleeping next to?

House of War by Carlos Carrasco

With the government on the verge of outlawing Christianity, a group of Catholics launch a new Crusade.

The Poppy and The Rose by Ashlee Cowles

While abroad in England, Taylor discovers a mystery linking her to an heiress and passenger aboard The Titanic.

The River of Life by Diana González Tabbaa

The death of little Anthony’s father shakes his faith until a heaven-sent friend helps him find his way back to God.

Live and Let Bite Review by Declan Finn

The battle with the demons of San Francisco left Marco broken and now Amanda isn’t answering his messages.

Nowhither by John C. Wright

Ilya Muromets fights off a dozens of tempting sirens and finally grows into the man he needs to be to defeat the Dark Tower.