Synopsis
Strong-willed Tirzah wants to join her people in driving the enemy from the land of Israel and undergoes training for a secret mission inside the stronghold of Shechem. But soon after she has infiltrated the ruthless Aramean commander’s kitchen, she makes a reckless decision that puts her and her allies in grave danger.
Fresh off the battlefield, Liyam returns home to discover his beloved daughter is dead. After his vow to hunt down her killer leads to months of fruitless pursuit, his last hope is in a family connection that comes with strings attached–strings that force him to pose as a mercenary and rescue an infuriating woman who refuses to leave her mission uncompleted.
When an opportunity to pave a path to a Hebrew victory arises, can Tirzah convince Liyam to fight alongside her in the refuge city of her birth? Or will Liyam’s thirst for vengeance outweigh his duty to his people, his God, and the woman he’s come to love?
Review
Disclaimer: Although I received a copy of this book from the publisher, the words and opinions below are my own.
Forty years have passed since a Hebrew named Moriyah was introduced in Wings of the Wind by Connilyn Cossette. She was maybe 13 years old, and her first appearance came almost halfway through the book. She featured heavily in the second half, but that was the last book in Cossette’s Out of Israel series, and I lamented that I wouldn’t get to learn what happened to her. At the time, I didn’t know she would become the centerpiece of the four Cities of Refuge books. Now the last of those books has been released… and I still want more.
Tirzah, Moriyah’s youngest child, is widowed due to the atrocities of the invading Arameans. She’s seen how her brothers, father, and other male friends and family members have trained to take back their Land. Meeting Liyam during a mission and falling in love with him? That was never part of her plan for the remainder of her life. The first part of the book covers their meeting and that mission. The second half shows why you probably shouldn’t go on a mission with someone you love. Because that mission, in Tirzah’s hometown of Kedesh, is a little trickier than the first. Especially when an Aramaic commander recognizes her and the Hebrew rebel leader, Othniel, tells his followers that he won’t be bringing an army to relive that city.
With Like Flames in the Night, Cossette takes a small portion of the Book of Judges and fleshes it out into a comprehensive, and entertaining, novel. Before reading this book, I had thought there was a longer gap between Moses leading the people out of Egypt, and Joshua helping to lead the people into the Land, and the time of the Hebrew Judges. But, over the course of seven books, Cossette has tied together the parts of the story to create one lengthy narrative and helped me understand it. Can you start reading her books with this most recent addition? I’m not sure. It helped that I knew the backstory, although I would’ve appreciated a character list and perhaps a family tree – or two – to remind me how everyone connected.
Finally, it seems fitting that the epilogue of this book and, indeed, this series, centers on Moriyah, even though the perspectives throughout the narrative shifted only between Tirzah and Liyam. For it’s Moriyah whose story I had followed for so long. In the beginning, she entered the sanctuary city of Kedesh as a young woman wanted for murder. Now that the Arameans have abandoned it, she’s able to freely re-enter and look upon her family and her life as an older – and much wiser – woman. I shall miss her.
Author Information
Connilyn Cossette is a Christy Award and Carol Award winning author whose books have been found on ECPA and CBA bestseller lists. When she is not engulfed in the happy chaos of homeschooling two teenagers, devouring books whole, or avoiding housework, she can be found digging into the rich ancient world of the Bible to discover gems of grace that point to Jesus and weaving them into an immersive fiction experience. Although she and her husband have lived all over the country in their twenty-plus years of marriage, they currently call a little town south of Dallas, Texas, their home.
Connilyn Cossette’s Website https://www.connilyncossette.com/
Product Information
Publisher: Bethany House (a division of Baker Publishing)
Publication Date: 03 March 2020
McCombs on Main 