Beloved Prodigal

Author: Patricia Annalee Kirk
Genre: Biblical Fiction

Mary of Bethany left home in a decision that shattered her family. She accepted her Messiah in a dramatic act of love, but Jesus doesn't always protect us from consequences.

Did responsible, staid Martha lose all hope of husband and children because of her sister's past? Did that past stand between her and the man who loved her? Could she forgive Mary?

How did Lazarus and Martha cope with the new creation back home?

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were real, flawed people. They laughed, they hurt, and Jesus called them friends. Walk with them through the most important decade in history.

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Reviewer: Laura J. Davis

As someone who has written about Mary, Martha and Lazarus I was looking forward to reading the Biblical Fiction novel Martha's Sister, Beloved Prodigal by Patricia Annalee Kirk. I was not disappointed.

What pleased me the most was that someone has finally set things straight about which Mary was the prostitute in the Gospels. I know that seems a silly thing to be pleased about, but it always irked me that Mary Magdalene had her character maligned for something she didn't do. The author has done a brilliant job of getting into her characters and showing how Mary (Lazarus' sister) could have come to such a crossroads in her life.

We often think of Mary, Martha and Lazarus as Jesus' friends, whom he loved dearly, but we don't think about the story before Jesus came into the picture and we don't think about the story after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. The author has created a very plausible "what if" scenario that Biblical fiction lovers will enjoy. It is clear the author has done her research. She not only used her Bible but she grasped the customs and cultures of that era, bringing to life real people in the Bible who knew Jesus and, in the case of this particular family, were touched by Him in a most remarkable way.

The only thing that bothered me about this book were the numerous typos. It definitely needs a good editor/proofreader. Other than that, if you enjoy Biblical fiction and have wondered what could have happened to Lazarus after Jesus raised him from the dead, this book would be an excellent choice.

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