POISONED HONEY

In this follow-up to her 2007 novel, Salome, Gormley gives readers the story of Mary Magdalene. Asserting in an author’s note that there’s no biblical evidence that Mary was a prostitute, the author presents her instead as a bright, imaginative child forced into marriage with an elderly man whose family despises her. Mary takes refuge in fantasies of another world, the demonic denizens of which become increasingly real, threatening to consume her. In a subplot, tax collector Matthew tries to ignore the injustices his Roman superiors demand he mete out. The lives of both change when an itinerant healer, Yeshua (Jesus), a charismatic and engaging character, casts out Mary’s demons and shows Matthew a different way to live. The setting is vivid, the characters realistic and convincing, the plot exciting. While readers are left to decide whether Mary suffers from demonic possession or mental illness, Yeshua’s miraculous gifts are presented as fact. Christian readers are well served here, but in today’s religiously diverse society, non-Christians may feel uncomfortable with the doctrine that underlies the story. (Historical fantasy. 12 & up)