By Marcus J. Borg
Harper One $25.99
This is a splendid collection of 16 intriguing articles by Borg, answering questions and offering thoughts on “How to be a Christian in the 21st Century.” Titles such as “Jesus, Our Model for Being Spirit-Filled”; “Is Jesus God?”; “Healing Our Image of God.” His arguments are so compelling we are persuaded to examine our way of living, and so clear as to make accessible the differences between faiths and how they reach the same conclusion. Although some subjects are perplexing, readers will find them very thought-provoking and very worthwhile.
A Private Cathedral
A Dave Robicheaux Novel
By James Lee Burke
Simon and Schuster $28
Dave is called on to solve the mysterious disappearance of two young teenagers who have fallen in love in defiance of their warring families, the two most notorious underworld criminals in New Iberia. If this sounds like Romeo and Juliette, it definitely is not. The Shondell and Balangie families will use any means to have their children return home where they will be kept separated. But as Robicheaux and his longtime partner get too close to the case, a New Orleans mafioso threatens them with a mysterious assassin who travels on a ghost ship and induces horrifying hallucinations. Don’t know if Dave’s faced anything like that but sure sounds like the Rougarou to me.
The Law of Innocence
By Michael Connelly
Little, Brown $29
Mickey Haller, the Lincoln lawyer, so named for working from the back seat of his Lincoln town car, having given his driver the day off, is pulled over by a cop, arrested and charged with first degree murder. The dead body found in his trunk must have been the reason, but hardly deserved his having to post a $5milion bond, which meant spending time in jail. Author Connelly puts the reader in Haller’s shoes from the arrest to the courtroom facing a vengeful judge and malicious prosecutor, to a jail cell. Connelly delivers a powerful story with authentic trial procedures that will have courtroom fans clinging on for dear life. Add to that, help comes to Haller from his half-brother, Harry Bosch, now a private eye and still as formidable as ever. A powerful story with two of the best crime fighters ever.