A cut above some anthologies with some good stories by Crider, Marston, Newman, Tremayne{Fidelma before becoming a sister) and of course, Anne Perry. ( )

As with most collections of short stories, some of the stories are stronger than others. Fortunately there were more stories in this collection that were better than in many. The entire collection of short stories are inspired by stories of the Bible. My favorites include "Way Down in Egypt's Land," "A Blessing of Frogs," "Corpus Christi," "Fear and Trembling: A Father Dowling Mystery," and "Lost Causes." My least favorites were "Cain Was Innocent" and "The People Outside."

"Cain Was Innocent" by Simon Brett - A humorous and irreverent account of Genesis. I disliked the story because of the author's view of the Bible's authority and because of his totally uncalled for statements regarding 21st century American politics. (2 stars)

"Way Down in Egypt's Land" by Lillian Stewart Carl - A well-written 19th century American slave story that is an updated account occurring during the Exodus. (4.5 stars)

"The Man on the Cross" by Bill Crider - When a man is found tied with electric wire to one of three crosses at a growing church, Rhodes must investigate. It's a fairly interesting story that could have been developed into either a novella or entire novel. (3.5 stars)

"Judith" by Judith Cutler - A humorous look at the apocryphal story of Judith as told by Judith through a conversation. (3.5 stars)

"Strangers in a Strange Land" by Carole Nelson Douglas - A modern-day revision of the story of Lot and Sodom & Gomorrah featuring the exit of Lut's family from Siddim City in which Lut had shown hospitality to two strangers. (3.5 stars)

"The Temptation of King David" by Brendan DuBois - A modern-day version of the story of David and Bathsheba set in Miami. (3 stars)

"The People Outside" by Martin Edwards - A story set in a mobile home caravan inspired by the biblical account of Naboth's Vineyard (which features Ahab and Jezebel). Unfortunately, its execution is a bit lacking. (2 stars)

"A Blessing of Frogs" by Gillian Linscott - The murder of the baker set during the plague of frogs during the Exodus. (4.5 stars)

"Corpus Christi" by Edward Marston - Set in medieval England, the man who played Jesus Christ in the Feast of Corpus Christi is found dead. This was probably my favorite story in the entire collection. (5 stars)

"Fear and Trembling: A Father Dowling Mystery" by Ralph McInerny - Father Dowling preaches about Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac and is surprised when Brian Sherry confides in him afterwards that Abraham was lucky and confesses to killing his own son. There's much more to this story, but it is probably my second favorite in the collection. (4.5 stars)

"The Deadly Bride" by Sharan Newman - This mystery is centered around a Jewish wedding in medieval France, near Paris. Solomon's friend Tobias is the groom, and the bride has had the misfortune of burying three husbands shortly after each wedding. She has a reputation of being cursed, and Solomon sets out to investigate. (4 stars)

"Birthday Dance" by Peter Robinson - A modern-day version of the beheading of John the Baptist. A very predictable story. (3 stars)

"The Queen Is Dead, Long Live the Queen" by Marcia Talley - Another story inspired by Cain and Abel. This one involves sisters -- one who authors books; the other who takes the credit for writing them. (3 stars)

"Does God Obey His Own Law?: A Sister Fidelma Story" by Peter Tremayne - Set in medieval Ireland at a monastery, Sister Fidelma is studying law and theology. She is given a case similar to the story of Ananias and Sapphira to solve. (3.5 stars)

"Lost Causes" by Anne Perry - Inspired by the trial of Absolom, the story finds an attorney named Judith taking up the defense on a case that everyone believes is a lost cause. (4.5 stars)

A brief word about proof-reading: This book could have used an extra pair of editorial eyes. In Tremayne's short story, we find a verb used for a noun in the sentence "A slight frowned [sic.] crossed Fidelma's face . . . " In Perry's story, we find a "q" in place of a "g" in the word surgeon at one place. ( )

A few of these are too cutesy- the ones that actually take place in Heaven or similar.

But there are also some gems. Both the David stories are great (the David/Bathsheba story is set in Miami and is about cops). The story based on Jezebel is set in an old folk's trailer park on the British coast. The story called "Birthday Dance" has a wonderful narrator, and is told from a unique perspective.

The takeoff on Sodom and Gomorrah is set during the current US war with Iraq and actually takes place in the town that served as the real model for Sodom in the Bible. It'd make an incredible short film. ( )