2021 is the fifth year that I’ve kept a file on my top Christian reads for the year. You can follow my reviews on Goodreads or BookBub.

I found it difficult to choose ten fiction books this year and so will (as I’ve done in the past) add in some non-fiction.

These books aren’t listed in any particular order.

1. The Silk Merchant of Sychar (Cindy Williams)

I love Biblical fiction if it is Biblically accurate and takes us into the history and culture of the times. The ‘Woman at the Well’ found in John 4 is a difficult story to write in a single book because of the number of marriages the woman had. Each needed to be plausible and yet not hurried through. Cindy did an excellent job and won a Caleb Award for this book.

BLURB: One woman, five husbands, and the weary rabbi at the well who knows everything she ever did.

The day after they bury her husband Leah Marcellus loses her baby. A widow and childless, what man will want her now? Her father arranges a second marriage–a profitable business arrangement–sealed on Mount Gerizim, the holy mountain where every true follower of Yahweh worships, but Leah’s heart belongs to another. Her passion only brings trouble – jealousy, murder, and lies.

Leah’s skill at the loom and the secrets of dye -the woad, the murex, and madder–brings her renown among the Roman women of wealth. Yet death and betrayal soon steal her security. In desperation, Leah sacrifices her peace of mind and risks everything to protect her family. From the olive groves of Samaria to the bloodied sand of a Roman stadium to the exquisite silks brought from the East, The Silk Merchant of Sychar weaves colour into the biblical account of the woman at the well.

2. Elite – Love Collective Book 2 (Kristen Young)

This is the second in a trilogy. The first was on my top reads last year and has won numerous awards, including Book of the Year for the Realm Makers awards. For those who love dystopian novels.

BLURB: Where do you find safety when your world is falling apart?
 
Apprentice Flick thought the Elite Academy was the answer to all her problems. But the revelation of her past turned everything upside down. Now, she is caught between two worlds set on a collision course.
 
Will she embrace the chaotic memories that flood her every waking moment? Or will she run to the security of her Elite training?
 
Discovering her parents’ identities takes her to a secret underground bunker where she finds new friends, opportunities, and maybe even love. But Flick must decide where her allegiances lie soon, or the Triumph of Love festival might bring about her demise.

3. Dusk’s Darkest Shores (Carolyn Miller)

4.25 stars My favourite of Carolyn Miller’s books. It reminded me of both D.E. Stevenson (a favourite author) and George Macdonald. Lovely to have a story about people basing their relationship on what actually matters. I’d love to see a follow-up into their marriage. Terrific cover.

BLURB: How can a meek wallflower help a returning war hero whose dreams are plunged into darkness?

Mary Bloomfield has no illusions. Her chances for matrimony have long since passed her by. Still, her circumstances are pleasant enough, especially now that she has found purpose in assisting her father with his medical practice in England’s beautiful Lake District. Even without love, it’s a peaceful life.

That is until Adam Edgerton returns to the sleepy district. This decorated war hero did not arrive home to acclaim and rest, but to a new battle against the repercussions of an insidious disease. Mary’s caring nature cannot stand to see someone suffer–but how can she help this man see any brightness in his future when he’s plunged into melancholic darkness, his dreams laid waste by his condition?

Adam wants no charity, but he’s also no coward. If this gentle woman can work hard, how can he do less? Together they struggle to find a way forward for him. Frustration and antipathy slowly develop into friendship and esteem. Then a summer storm atop a mountain peak leads to scandal–and both Mary and Adam must search the depths of their closed hearts for answers if they hope to find any future path with happiness at its end.

4. The Edge of Belonging (Amanda Cox)

4.5 stars Fantastic debut. Beautiful story and cover. A moving, gentle story but with many issues about different kinds of broken people.

BLURB: When Ivy Rose returns to her hometown to oversee an estate sale, she soon discovers that her grandmother left behind more than trinkets and photo frames–she provided a path to the truth behind Ivy’s adoption. Shocked, Ivy seeks clues to her past, but a key piece to the mystery is missing.

Twenty-four years earlier, Harvey James finds an abandoned newborn who gives him a sense of human connection for the first time in his life. His desire to care for the baby runs up against the stark fact that he is homeless. When he becomes entwined with two people seeking to help him find his way, Harvey knows he must keep the baby a secret or risk losing the only person he’s ever loved.

In this dual-time story from debut novelist Amanda Cox, the truth–both the search for it and the desire to keep it from others–takes center stage as Ivy and Harvey grapple with love, loss, and letting go.

5. More than Honor ( Carol Ashby)

This is my favourite so far of Carol’s books. A strong mystery element. Wonderful conversations about truth and characters that truly understand the difference it makes to follow Jesus. All contained in the package of Roman history and customs made real.

BLURB: Duty and honor had anchored his life, but only truth could set him free.

Devotion to duty and dogged determination make Tribune Titianus the most feared investigator of the Urban Cohort. Honor drives him to hunt down anyone who breaks Roman law, but it becomes personal when Lenaeus, his old tutor, is murdered in his own classroom. Why kill a respected teacher of the noble sons of Rome, a man who has nothing worth stealing and no known enemies? Had he learned something too dangerous to let him live?

Pompeia was only a girl when Titianus studied with Father before her family became Christians. She and her brother Kaeso can’t move their school from the house where their father was killed. But what if the one who killed Father comes to kill again? Kaeso’s friend Septimus insists they spend nights at his father’s well-guarded home. But danger lurks there as well. As Titianus hunts for the murderer, will he discover their secret faith and arrest them as enemies of the Empire?

When Titianus gets too close to finding the killer, the hunter becomes the hunted. While he recovers at his cousin Septimus’s house, Pompeia becomes the first woman to touch his heart. But a tribune’s loyalty is sworn to Rome, no matter how he feels. When her faith is revealed, will truth and love mean more to him than honor? Does honor require more than devotion to Rome?

Dangerous times, difficult friendships, lives transformed by forgiveness and love

6. Fire (Linda K. Rodante)

This is the third in a trilogy about an inner-city ministry. If you like gritty, realistic stories, this is a book to consider.

BLURB: When a violent gang re-organizes, an undercover cop could lose everything…including the woman he loves.

Following a gang war, the undercover cop known as Patriot is forced to flee his hometown and assume a new identity. When the gang re-organizes and threatens a friend, Patriot—now a firefighter—returns to face them.

Chloe Swearingen confines herself to the fast pace of the ER and away from interpersonal relationships—for a reason she keeps to herself. But when she helps save a gangster’s life, she’s thrown into a cauldron of relationships from which she can’t escape.

Then a series of fires target Chloe, her church and her friends, and she and Patriot must risk their lives to bring an end to the forces of darkness arraigned against them.

7. Beauty for Ashes (Kathleen Neely)

4.5 stars – these stories resonate with true hope.

BLURB: Nathan Drummond’s actions at the age of eighteen had devastating consequences. Writing became therapeutic, leading him into a successful career as a mystery writer. With seven novels to his credit, Nathan is rapidly becoming a household name.


Family responsibilities force him to return to his hometown, pushing him too close to painful memories. Although he’d intended the living situation to be temporary, Nathan didn’t count on falling in love.


As guilt threatens a return of panic attacks, Nathan begins to write a novel paralleling the tragic event from his youthful folly. Will the novel be seen as a work of fiction, or will it expose his secret?

8. Broken Together (Brenda S. Anderson & Sarah S. Anderson)

This is not an easy book to read as it is about a couple (family) broken by many things including a husband in jail. I appreciated that this book didn’t end at his release but traveled with them all through the major adjustments. This is not a sugar-coated story but it is real – which is one of the reasons I read this author’s books. As always there is plenty of hope and demonstration of the difference that Jesus makes if we’re willing to follow His ways – something we all struggle with.

BLURB: How do you persevere when you have no more will to fight?

Jennifer and Chad Taylor had dreamed of opening a coffee and cocoa shop since before they said, “I do.” When Chad is sent to prison for murder despite claiming innocence, that dream—along with their family—is shattered.

After years of fighting for Chad’s release, Jennifer finally breaks free from her shame, anger, and hopelessness, and forges ahead with the dream the two of them once shared. With the help of their college-aged twins, she begins to move forward.

Without Chad.

When their lawyer arrives with news of evidence that may prove Chad’s innocence, a strange mixture of emotions overtakes her. Does she want Chad to return home? He isn’t the same man he once was, and she certainly isn’t the same woman. She’s worked hard to piece the remnants of their family back together, and his coming home could fracture the family once again.

It all comes down to one question. She loves her husband enough to fight for his release from prison, but does she love him enough to fight for their marriage?

9. How to talk about Jesus (without being that guy) (Sam Chan)

A book that every Christian could learn from. I found myself picking up new ideas in every chapter and realizing that I’ll need to go back and write notes. Clear, inspiring, and thought-provoking.

BLURB: Most Christians know they should be trying to tell their friends and family about Jesus. But in a post-Christendom world, personal evangelism is viewed negatively–it’s offensive, inappropriate, and insensitive. Recent studies confirm that the majority of Christians rarely evangelize, worried they might offend their family or lose their friends. In How to Talk About Jesus (Without Being That Guy), author Sam Chan equips everyday Christians who are reluctant and nervous to tell their friends about Jesus with practical, tested ways of sharing their faith in the least awkward ways possible.

Drawing from over two decades of experience as an evangelist, teacher, and pastor, Chan explains why personal evangelism feels so awkward today. And utilizing recent insights from communication theory, cross-cultural ministry, and apologetics, he helps you build confidence in sharing your faith, and teaches you how to evangelize your friends and family in socially appropriate ways.

10. John Stott’s Right Hand: The untold story of Frances Whitehead (Julia Cameron)

Before leaving where I’d been living for 22 years, I reread several biographies. This was one and I love it because it is the story of faithfulness. Faithfulness to God without glamour. I hope that Julia Cameron writes some more biographies.

BLURB: Frances Whitehead was working for the BBC in London when Stott asked her to become his secretary. For 55 years she was his right hand: gatekeeper, administrator, typist, encourager, and enabler. In his Will, Stott named her as his ‘friend and Executor’. Their partnership – unique, effective, and not without humour – has been described as ‘one of the greatest Christian partnerships of the 20th century’. But what lay behind the dogged determination, fiercely protective streak, occasional imperious tone, and ready, warm laughter Frances brought to her role? This book tracks her life and glimpses her ancestry to find the answer. JEM Cameron, MA FRSA, has served on the boards of three of John Stott’s initiatives. She is Director of Publishing for the Lausanne Movement and lives in Oxford.

2021 has also been a big publishing year

And for me, it has been a big book year in terms of publishing with the two final novels in my six-book series and a German translation of my Sword Fighting: Applying God’s word to win the battle for our minds. The German title is Siegreich Sein: mit Gottes Wort.

The novels have not only been published as ebooks and print but Large Print and audio as well. Covid lockdowns do have their uses! The links below will lead through to all those formats (on the universal book links).

Book 1 – Grace in Strange Disguise

Book 2 – Grace in the Shadows

Book 3 – Grace in Deep Waters

Book 4 – Grace in the Desert

Book 5 – Grace Beneath the Frost – new in April 2021.

Book 6 – Grace Across the Miles – new in December 2021.