A Woman of Words

Author: Angela Hunt
Genre: Biblical Fiction
Series: Jerusalem Road #3
Release Date: May 4, 2021

​Disciple Matthew, a former tax collector, is invited to work with Peter, James, and John in Jerusalem. He dreams of preaching and performing miracles like his fellow apostles, but he finds his dreams postponed because of a request from Yeshua's mother.

​Well aware of the passing years, Mary asks Matthew to help her record the stories of Yeshua while the eyewitnesses are still alive. Reluctantly, he agrees, though the longer he and Mary work together, the more difficult their task becomes. Not only are they pressured by opposition from friends and foes alike, but Gaius Caesar, better known as Caligula, is determined to raise a statue of himself in the Holy Temple, even if it means killing every man in Israel. As Matthew works to save his people, Mary encourages him to come to terms with issues from his past. When they finally near the completion of their project, Matthew realizes that the job he reluctantly accepted might be his God-given destiny.

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Reviewer: Laura J. Davis

A Woman of Words by Angela Hunt is the third book in the Jerusalem Road series and provides a unique look at Mary, the mother of Jesus.

I found this book particularly fascinating because I published my first book over eleven years ago, and it featured Mary working together with the disciple Luke to write stories about Jesus. In Hunt's novel, it is the disciple Matthew who begins the task of collaborating with Mary on writing a book about Jesus, and she fills in "what-might-have-been" quite nicely.

Hunt did a marvellous job of bringing the Bible to life, but at times the story dragged, as Matthew and Mary argued about what she envisioned for "her" book. Despite its slow start, the author included extra tidbits of fiction that you won't find in the Bible that managed to add some excitement and warmth towards the book's end. 

If you enjoy Biblical fiction, you will want to add this one to your collection.

I received this book courtesy of Bethany House Publishers through NetGalley, for my honest opinion.

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