Pages: 304
Source: I purchased for INSPY
Genre: Historical Fiction
From Ginger Garrett's Website:
Dinfoil, Germany, 1538. In a peaceful medieval village, a double murder stirs up festering fears. Father Stefan, the beloved village priest, secretly calls for an Inquisitor to solve the mystery. But the charismatic Inquisotor who answers the call brings a deadly mix of spiritual fervor and self-deceptive evil. Under his influence, fear guilt, and suspicion of women take a deadly turn. Pious and heretic alike becoe victims of witch-burning zealots. his beloved priest, Father Stefan, will face death and find God, and Mia, a devoted but lonely wife, will face truth and find freedom, and a mysterious killer will face his accusers and find justice.Discover the power of love over fear.
My Thoughts:
This book was hard for me to read. I kept finding myself getting angry. As a teacher I know how women in history were treated. I know that the church in the 1500’s in Europe held so much power that they felt they could do whatever they wanted and people had to obey or suffer the consequences. I would not have survived long in their time period.
The book starts off in Germany during the 1500’s with the murder of a couple. The church immediately, along with the men decided that Catarina, the murdered was having an affair. They decide her husband found out and that the jealous lover killed them both. So what does Father Stefan do? He brings in an Inquisitor. When he suggested doing this to the Sheriff, the Sheriff advised against it. Once the inquisitor arrives things go from bad to worse.
I felt extremely sorry for Mia, the Sheriff’s wife who stayed home and took care of not only her sickly child, but also her aged mother-in-law. What thanks did she get? None. Her husband constantly accused her of evil thoughts. He called her such vile names and constantly put her down. Mia is alone. The only friend she had no longer talks with her. It wasn’t just the sheriff who did this. The church had the men convinced that women were the reason for all of the evil things they did. Somehow they bewitched them and this caused them to do bad things. Mia prays constantly for healing for her daughter. She even goes so far as going to confession. The priest pretty much tells her that she is the reason that this stuff is happening to her daughter. It is the evil within her, the pride that causes her daughter’s illness.
It is clear from the beginning when the story opens with the discovery that a wolf has killed two of the village’s sheep that this story is not about physical wolves. Yes they do catch and kill the wolf killing sheep. This is really about evil being all around us. During this period of time when most people were illiterate they had no way of truly knowing what the scripture said. They had to believe what the church “told” them the scriptures said. Women had it even worse. They were not allowed to read the scriptures even if they knew how to read. This is an excellent book to read to see how far we have come in church history. There are plenty of twists and turns in this book to hold your attention. I am happy that I was allowed to read this as an Inspy judge.
From Her Website:
Ginger Garrett is the author of the Chronicles of the Scribes series (In the Shadow of Lions, In the Arms of Immortals, In the Eyes of Eternity), Dark Hour, and Beauty Secrets of the Bible. Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther was recognized as one of the top five novels of 2006 by the ECPA.
Focusing on ancient women's history, Ginger creates novels and nonfiction resources that explore the lives of historical women. A frequent media guest and television host, Ginger has been interviewed by Fox News, Billy Graham's The Hour of Decision, The Harvest Show, 104.7 The Fish Atlanta, and many other outlets.
A graduate of Southern Methodist University with a degree in Theater, she is passionate about creating art from history. Ginger resides in Georgia with her husband and three children.
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