Jerusalem 1878, Cobbins, Ingram. Wikimedia Commons: Public Domain
Reviews
Kirkus Review—excerpts
Espionage in the time of Jesus begets a slow-moving but riveting novel.
An aspiring scribe investigates incidents surrounding a man who claims to be a messiah in Millard’s Christian historical
fiction debut…Millard skillfully blends the elements of a spy novel with the Biblical story of Jesus: Jannaeus suspects an influential person entangled in a conspiracy, eyes someone he’s close to as a potential betrayer, and, at various times, runs up against zealots and pirates.
The protagonist is convincingly flawed as he pushes away Rebekka and neurotically mulls over subjects that render him sleepless… The supporting cast is just as compelling, including the not-exactly-trustworthy Jewish leaders whom Jannaeus works for, the always-reliable Nicanor, and Demas, Nicanor’s smart, resourceful servant.
While this lengthy tale rolls out at a notably unhurried pace, it’s consistently engaging, even though most readers will be fully aware of where it’s headed. All the while, the author’s easygoing prose showcases her thorough knowledge of Christian lore as well as the era, the land, and its languages.
Espionage in the time of Jesus begets a slow-moving but riveting novel.
An aspiring scribe investigates incidents surrounding a man who claims to be a messiah in Millard’s Christian historical
fiction debut…Millard skillfully blends the elements of a spy novel with the Biblical story of Jesus: Jannaeus suspects an influential person entangled in a conspiracy, eyes someone he’s close to as a potential betrayer, and, at various times, runs up against zealots and pirates.
The protagonist is convincingly flawed as he pushes away Rebekka and neurotically mulls over subjects that render him sleepless… The supporting cast is just as compelling, including the not-exactly-trustworthy Jewish leaders whom Jannaeus works for, the always-reliable Nicanor, and Demas, Nicanor’s smart, resourceful servant.
While this lengthy tale rolls out at a notably unhurried pace, it’s consistently engaging, even though most readers will be fully aware of where it’s headed. All the while, the author’s easygoing prose showcases her thorough knowledge of Christian lore as well as the era, the land, and its languages.
FOREWORD—Clarion Review, excerpts
A young man witnesses history in the Christian novel Turnabout Spy, an imaginative retelling of New Testament tales.
Well-known stories from the New Testament are used as plot points, with Jannaeus as a witness…Jannaeus's incorporation into extant tales is intriguing, helping to maintain suspense in the otherwise familiar plot.
Jannaeus exudes youthful angst. He is at times rash, and he is prone to making spur-of-the-moment trips out of Jerusalem…But he’s also tender and introspective, especially around Rebekah, the girl he loves. He is haunted by a night in Corinth and yearns for forgiveness before pursuing her. Jannaeus’s rawness and desire to do what’s right, even in the face of uncertainty, make him an endearing lead.
Saturated with linguistic and cultural details, Turnabout Spy is a historical novel in which a Jewish boy witnesses the ministry of Jesus and the ensuing political upheaval.
THE DARLING AXE—Kara Aisenbrey, excerpts
What did you like most about the narrative?
I appreciated this take on what the arrival of Jesus meant—why so many Jews, even though they were waiting for someone like him to come, saw his claims as an attack on their beliefs rather than confirming them. It did a great job of putting the reader in the shoes of people of that time, who had no assurances or even any guidance from their religious leaders (at least, not any single opinion held by all) that Jesus was who he claimed he was. It truly must have felt like a leap of faith at the time, even more so than today, and I appreciated how the narrative put us so firmly in the shoes of the ones who didn’t take that leap, showed us how even devout believers of the Bible felt like there was no clear answer for who Jesus was—and how many saw him as a threat against everything they held dear. Jannaeus, placed somewhere between disciple and Zealot and avid disbeliever, was a window into each faction.
A goal of the novel was to place the reader in a “you are there” setting. Was this effective?
Absolutely! I felt like this was one of strongest elements of the novel, how all the historical research translated into descriptions that made the places come to life. I really loved how an atmosphere permeated the descriptions of setting, so it was not just factual lists of what that place would have looked like, but a real sense of the mood of being there in one particular moment. I can still envision the description of coming down from the Mount of Olives looking down to Jerusalem!
How does this manuscript compare to other titles you’ve read recently in the same genre?
This one was definitely well researched! I felt like it had so much historical knowledge and sense of context to it, and a really well-developed sense of the Jewish community and what they valued. Where similar novels I’ve read focus on direct interactions with Jesus, this narrative kept him as more of a side character and focused instead on what was happening within Jerusalem’s Jewish community. Where many authors focus on the narrative of confronting disbelief to conviction and belief, this story focused almost solely on a perspective of continued disbelief, which I thought was really intriguing.
A young man witnesses history in the Christian novel Turnabout Spy, an imaginative retelling of New Testament tales.
Well-known stories from the New Testament are used as plot points, with Jannaeus as a witness…Jannaeus's incorporation into extant tales is intriguing, helping to maintain suspense in the otherwise familiar plot.
Jannaeus exudes youthful angst. He is at times rash, and he is prone to making spur-of-the-moment trips out of Jerusalem…But he’s also tender and introspective, especially around Rebekah, the girl he loves. He is haunted by a night in Corinth and yearns for forgiveness before pursuing her. Jannaeus’s rawness and desire to do what’s right, even in the face of uncertainty, make him an endearing lead.
Saturated with linguistic and cultural details, Turnabout Spy is a historical novel in which a Jewish boy witnesses the ministry of Jesus and the ensuing political upheaval.
THE DARLING AXE—Kara Aisenbrey, excerpts
What did you like most about the narrative?
I appreciated this take on what the arrival of Jesus meant—why so many Jews, even though they were waiting for someone like him to come, saw his claims as an attack on their beliefs rather than confirming them. It did a great job of putting the reader in the shoes of people of that time, who had no assurances or even any guidance from their religious leaders (at least, not any single opinion held by all) that Jesus was who he claimed he was. It truly must have felt like a leap of faith at the time, even more so than today, and I appreciated how the narrative put us so firmly in the shoes of the ones who didn’t take that leap, showed us how even devout believers of the Bible felt like there was no clear answer for who Jesus was—and how many saw him as a threat against everything they held dear. Jannaeus, placed somewhere between disciple and Zealot and avid disbeliever, was a window into each faction.
A goal of the novel was to place the reader in a “you are there” setting. Was this effective?
Absolutely! I felt like this was one of strongest elements of the novel, how all the historical research translated into descriptions that made the places come to life. I really loved how an atmosphere permeated the descriptions of setting, so it was not just factual lists of what that place would have looked like, but a real sense of the mood of being there in one particular moment. I can still envision the description of coming down from the Mount of Olives looking down to Jerusalem!
How does this manuscript compare to other titles you’ve read recently in the same genre?
This one was definitely well researched! I felt like it had so much historical knowledge and sense of context to it, and a really well-developed sense of the Jewish community and what they valued. Where similar novels I’ve read focus on direct interactions with Jesus, this narrative kept him as more of a side character and focused instead on what was happening within Jerusalem’s Jewish community. Where many authors focus on the narrative of confronting disbelief to conviction and belief, this story focused almost solely on a perspective of continued disbelief, which I thought was really intriguing.
