The October 2025 issue of Anabaptist World includes several mini reviews of recent and upcoming fiction books.

Rebecca Kauffman’s beautiful I’ll Come to You (Counterpoint Press) is a quiet novel focused on the lives of extended family awaiting the arrival of a much-anticipated baby. Set in 1995, the story is structured around a month-by-month chronicle of the expectant couple, Paul and Corinne, and their families: Paul’s, fractured by divorce; and Corinne’s, unraveled by her father’s dementia, her mother’s silent control and her brother’s fragmented relationships. The novel adeptly narrates the banal happenings to which the characters’ lives consistently attend, from holiday dinners to chance encounters with now-strangers who once meant so much more. Something powerful thrums beneath their day-to-day existence, though, as the characters contend with loss and joy, the weight of memory and the hope embodied by Olivia, the new baby, imperfectly cherished by all. A literary critic once said of the great Canadian writer Alice Munro that her stories focused on “the feeling of being itself” (this before Munro’s own complicated legacy came to light). I’ll Come to You brought this idea to mind, as her story resounds with the complex, beautiful, tragic, courageous act of being human. Kauffman has served as a writer-in-residence at Eastern Mennonite University. — Melanie Springer Mock

In the author’s note to Mask of the Deer Woman (Penguin), Laurie L. Dove describes the inspiration for her debut thriller. As an infant, Dove was adopted by a Mennonite family who ensured that Dove was aware of her Indigenous heritage, yet she “realized there were some aspects of my history that might remain unknown to me.” Writing Mask of the Deer Woman became a way to explore her Indigenous roots. The novel bears witness to the disproportionate number of women in Indigenous communities who are victims of violence. Mask of the Deer Woman affirms their strength and resilience. Detective Carrie Starr, the novel’s protagonist, moves to the Oklahoma reservation where her father was raised, needing a fresh start after her personal and professional lives in Chicago are shattered. A missing young woman initiates an investigation into a spate of disappearances, including a woman who is found murdered. Starr contends with multiple suspects whose questionable behavior compels her (and, by extension, the reader) to consider how White exploitation continues to fracture Indigenous communities, including the literal fracturing of Indigenous land through fracking and the pillaging of natural resources. The book’s title alludes to a half-woman, half-deer mythical figure from which Starr gains strength to face the evil forces that imperil her life and that of other women. The fast-paced ending — and the surprising revelation of the criminals and their intent — propels readers to a satisfying conclusion. — Melanie Springer Mock
Editor’s note: This book contains descriptions of alcoholism, drug use, rape and violence that might be unsuitable for some readers.

One of the useful things about retellings of the Jesus story is the opportunity to see it with new eyes. Spying on Jesus (Resource Publications), a well-paced novella by Ryan Ahlgrim, lead pastor of First Mennonite Church of Richmond, Va., uses the lens of a fictional Caleb, a scribe hired by the government of Herod Antipas to spy on Jesus of Nazareth, who is garnering undue attention. Caleb becomes one of those beyond the Twelve who follow Jesus as he preaches and heals throughout Galilee before moving on to Jerusalem, where he meets his death. Caleb, who feels Jesus’ views are too unrealistic, eventually comes under Jesus’ spell and (you guessed it) becomes a believer. Ahlgrim includes some nice detail, like rats scurrying around the disciples as they sleep, or the number of Roman guards attending Jesus’ walk to the cross. Much of the book paraphrases the Gospels, and it is most interesting when Ahlgrim departs from the text to include fictional elements, such as Caleb’s friendship with Judas or his relationship with his wife and daughter. There are some anachronisms, such as “bureaucracy” and “class warfare,” but Spying on Jesus remains an engaging read. — Gordon Houser

Maybe you’re a fan of Amish romances. Or maybe you’ve never read one. I hadn’t. When The Christmas House (Bethany House) arrived in the mail, I decided this was the right time to sample the genre. This 156-page novella by the prolific Beverly Lewis — whose website lists 44 Amish romances — maintains the cheery tone of a holiday carol. In Lewis’ telling, the Amish of Hickory Hollow are pious and affable, except for the few who grumble about the “English” neighbors’ extravagant holiday display. Liz Lantz, who runs an Amish-themed tour business, suspects her younger sister, who has a steady beau, is delaying marriage to avoid altering the standard matrimonial order. Lately, Liz wonders if Matthew Yoder, her temporary buggy driver and co-tour guide, is as interested in her as in the customers. A courtship unfolds as tensions rise over the gaudy “Christmas house.” In The Thrill of the Chaste: The Allure of Amish Romance Novels (Johns Hopkins, 2013), Valerie Weaver-Zercher observes that “inspirational fiction and the Amish are either the strangest of bedfellows or the perfect couple.” On a crowded shelf of “bonnet books,” Lewis has mastered the heartwarming formula for success. — Paul Schrag

Be good. Be nice. Be helpful. These are things a good Mennonite girl does. If only that were enough. What Mennonite Girls Are Good For by Jennifer Sears (University of Iowa Press) gathers 11 fictional stories that question identity when the faith that defines generations seems to ask too much and never offers enough grace. Be melancholy. Be confused. Be frustrated. Ruthie is an outsider in a family and a church built on community. From Mishawaka Road in Indiana to Highway 50 in Kansas, Sears writes with an authenticity that comes from having lived in the places Ruthie traverses. None of the journeys are easy. Each awkward ride reflects the tragedy of growing into and then out of faith. Sears is associate professor of English at New York City College of Technology/City University of New York. She wrote the title chapter for the 2017 Mennonite/s Writing Conference. “How long would she mistake her fierce pulls of emotion for unpardonable sins?” writes Sears, letting the Anabaptist value of self-sacrifice snowball until it rips apart the heroine’s faith and identity. The tragic melancholy pushes Ruthie ever further from her faith community until her best notion of who she is might be found in what she left behind. Most of the stories involve matters related to sexuality. “Like many books of fiction, the stories are drawn from some of my experiences or those around me, but they really are fiction,” says Sears, who has attended Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship over the years and is the child of a Mennonite pastor and mission worker. Winner of the University of Iowa Press John Simmons Short Fiction Award, the collection will be released Nov. 25. — Tim Huber
Editor’s note: This book contains a brief description of a suicide and multiple descriptions of sexual situations, including exploitation of a child, which some readers may find disturbing and offensive.