Exciting fiction premiere from beloved New York Times bestselling author Beth Moore.2017 Christy Award finalist (General Fiction category)Only God knew why Jillian Slater agreed to return to New Orleans on the news that her father had finally drunk himself to death. It’s not like they were close. She hadn’t seen him–or her grandmother, the ice queen–in almost 20 years. But when Adella Atwater, … years. But when Adella Atwater, the manager of her grandmother’s apartment house, called and said Jillian’s expenses would be paid if she’d fly in for the burial, a free trip to New Orleans was too intriguing to resist.
What Adella didn’t tell her was that the apartment house wasn’t a house at all and, whatever it was, bore the dead weight of a long and painful history. As soon as Jillian meets the odd assortment of renters and realizes that her grandmother had no idea she was coming, she hatches a plan to escape. But the investigation into her father’s death quickly unfolds and Jillian is drawn into the lives of the colorful collection of saints and sinners who pass through Saint Silvanus. She soon discovers there is more at stake than she ever imagined. Who is behind the baffling messages and the strange relics left on the steps? Is it possible that her family is actually cursed? Or is it just this crazy old house that holds them all under its spell?
Jillian walks into a web of spiritual and personal danger borne out of her family’s broken history, and despite Adella’s wiliest efforts, only God himself can orchestrate the undoing of all that is going on at Saint Silvanus.
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Although just a tad slow to get into, this book turned out to be interesting, thought provoking and entertaining. You first think the protagonist might be a little shallow, though a product of her generation (and her mother). But by the end of the first few chapters, you love and root for her. The supporting characters are interesting also, as well as sympathetic, though hardly perfect. The fact that this is Christian fiction detracts not at all from the excellent story telling. It is a rather long book, but well worth the read. I had to recheck it from the library in order to finish.
This contemporary fiction from a few years ago was an unusual pick for me, and I came upon it at the library and was drawn in first by the cover and then by the setting — a church-turned-apartment house in New Orleans. I love books that introduce a quirky cast of characters living together and the relationships between them, especially when there’s a mystery to unravel. This was a compelling and heartwarming read with plenty of great dialogue and thought-provoking insight. Not surprisingly, this Tyndale novel was a finalist in the 2017 Christy Awards in the general fiction category.
2.5 stars rounding down. My husband sat next to a nice woman on a plane from Nashville and in the course of the conversation she mentioned that she is an author and speaker. My husband quickly downloaded her fiction book The Undoing of Saint Silvanus and I was excited to read it. The novel had its moments but truthfully the story was too long (it could have been edited down to 300 pages) and the writing contained way too many similes.
Enjoyed and looking forward to a sequel.
Beth Moore’s first fiction book was great. I would love to read more.
Beth Moore’s fiction writing is as ever good as her Bible studies are. The main character comes in as a snotty 20-something and leaves a mature woman. Love to see character growth. The way she effects those around her is growth also.
There’s some back story involving the building and the first people to use it as a church in a tragic story that gives a haunting quality to the tale. Great book.
I was disappointed in the ending.
Excellent read!
Engaging and poignant!
I love Beth’s non-fiction books and now I love her fiction writing! She did a great job capturing and keeping my interest in this book.
Have done many of her studies and enjoyed her first novel.
Kept my interest throughout; however, the ending is a cliff hanger. . . .hope there is a sequel!
Great book. So glad I bought it.
This was an excellent first book. I loved the development of characters at the end of the story. She showed good time to change and resolve. I think she’ll find her voice and the next story will be better. I like that not everyone changed and that there was appropriate tragedy. I recommend trying it.
I am a huge fan of Beth Moore’s Christian DVD/book studies, so it is really difficult for me to say that I was disappointed in her first fiction book. The lead character, Jillian, who went home for her alcoholic father’s funeral was very unlikable until just about the end. And…I believe the quirky characters who were supposed to be funny just came off as silly and not really funny in any style of humor. Adella, the house cook and general manager of sorts, was meant to be especially funny but was not. Jillian’s grandmother’s strangeness seemed forced. Ironically, one of the reasons I so love B. Moore’s book studies and DVD’s is her wonderful sense of humor! Maybe she will do better on next try.
Loved this book!
Beth Moore proved herself to be a great author of fiction as well as nonfiction.
I really enjoyed this story. I lived in New Orleans for a couple years so I could picture many of the sites she talked about. Non typical for Beth Moore. Hope she writes more novels.
I have to say I was a little disappointed in this one. I expected more from Beth Moore. The characters were interesting, but the story was a little disjointed. I felt like there were loose ends everywhere when I finally got to the end. It was the kind of book that I made myself finish reading – but felt let down by the end.
Great book and enjoyable characters