Now and at the Hour of Our Death by JSB Morse
Book review by Wendy:

In the provocative and captivating novel Now And At the Hour of Our Death, the reader is taken on a journey of self-exploration and asked to challenge preconceived notions about faith and science and to reflect on their personal beliefs. It’s a unique story, a page turner with several shocking twists and turns.

When the story opens, Mary Credence, a devote and virtuous seventeen-year-old, the daughter of a candidate for the U.S. Senate, harbors a desire to bring an unbelieving world back to faith like a modern day Joan of Arc. What she doesn’t expect as a zealous virgin is that she’s pregnant. When her family finds out, she holds fast to her belief in her virginity and to her conviction that the conception is a God-given miracle. What she unleashes as her discovery becomes a sensational high-profile news flash is a fight against cynicism and scorn, and to be stalked by a psychopath who believes she’s carrying the anti-Christ. This is the story about a faith that doesn’t spring from a miracle, but a miracle that springs from faith when faced with the impossible.

Into the heart of this plot is woven messages about love, charity, faith, forgiveness and self-sacrifice. The storyline progresses smoothly and quickly as events and tension heat up.

The characters are realistic and complex as they deal with the chaos of events that surge around them. Mary Cadence is very pious, a teen with a pure heart who seems mature beyond her years, the opposite of her jealous, promiscuous sister Hannah. Her father Benjamin is honest, truthful, compassionate and supportive while her mother Madeleine (Maddie) is an egotistical social climber with a Machiavellian personality. Mildred Hawthorne is Mary’s delightful grandmother with her frank honesty, humor and wit. She’s tough around the edges but has a good heart. Will Vernick, a broken-hearted writer, is an unmotivated dreamer who believes in the impossible. When influenced in unexpected ways he will become determined and inspired. In stark contrast, Christopher Austin III is an arrogant, charming, self-engrossed cad who’s changed by love and finds deliverance from his mistakes through self-sacrifice. Aliyah Touma, the obstetrician, is a perfectionist, ambitious and self-oriented, her faith in science and medicine uncompromising.

But the evil in this story is prevalent in two men: Dugan Singer, who’s disturbed and antisocial; and Ethan Cooper, an immoral teen, both weak and easily influenced. All the characters in Now and at the Hour of our Death add depth and dimension to a story that will grip your emotions and challenge your beliefs.

I enjoyed this novel immensely and highly recommend it.

Now and at the Hour of Our Death is available in paperback and as a Kindle ebook.