"The Rhetoric of Death"

Judith Rock is the author of this well written historical fiction novel - "The Rhetoric of Death" - and it has a mystery to be solved, too. Therefore, it combines two of my favorite types of fiction -- history and mystery. Rock must have done some incredible research as this book is rich in detail. It's set in seventeenth-century Paris and I felt like I was there because her descriptions are so vivid.

The hero in this story is Charles du Luc who is a former soldier turned half-fledged Jesuit. His uncle, the Bishop of Marseilles, has discovered that Charles has been helping heretics (also known as Protestants) so he sends him to Paris to teach in a different school hoping to shield him from the king's dragoons. However, murder of a student and the attempted murder of another student leads him into an investigation that has him busy trying to save his vocation and his life.

Good news for me -- Charles and his Paris are returning late this year. Updates and details can be found at the author's website at www.judithrock.com.

The paperback copy that I picked up at the library comes complete with discussion questions at the end so it would be a great Book Club pick.

There is a quote in the book on page 107 that resonated with me: "But I have learned to be very wary of any man who is sure that he is as right as God." I believe it resonated with me because I have a difficult time with any person or religion that is so sure they have the right answer that they are willing to persecute -- even kill -- others to make their point. What kind of religion is that?

pazt