I chose the novel All
Things Hidden (2004) by JudyCandis because of the title, which is from 1 Corinthians 4:5, and I was
prepared to reject it because of the Biblical reference. At the same time, I
wondered how a religious theme would play out in a police procedural novel. I’m
not antireligious, but when I sense a religious motif in a crime novel, I
cringe because I feel I’m about to be preached at. Is it possible to write a such
a novel without seeming to preach. Maybe, but Candis has failed to do so.
Candis introduces the motif of Christian faith in the
opening scene. The protagonist enters a crack house where body has been found
and has a moment of panic despite her faith in God:
God had not given her the spirit of fear. Jael knew this
like she knew there were sixty-six books in the Bible. She knew this like she
knew the exact hour and second that she accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior.
More important, she knew this like she knew God's Word was eternal and true.
Yet the pounding of her heart was so rapid, so profound, it threatened to
burst through her rib cage.
Jael Reynolds, the only Black female in the police
department of Dadesville, Florida, is the lead detective in the investigation of
the killings of three drug dealers. It appears dealers are being target, and
she speculates that it might be a war among them. She also speculates that it
might be a serial killer or a Black vigilante taking the law into his own
hands. Her investigation puts her and her son in jeopardy as she gets closer to
discovering the killer and the diabolical motive.
All Things Hidden is a novel Christians may well enjoy because
of the motif of a woman of faith who, with the help of God, defeats the forces
of evil. To make sure the point of the novel is not missed, the narrator
reminds the reader that Jael is "in the clutches of a serious spiritual
battle. Warfare at the highest level." She is named after the warrior
woman who helped “the Israelites in battle by nailing their enemy king’s head to
the ground” (Book of Judges, 4:17-23).
All Things Hidden reminded me of the story of Job, who never
wavered in his faith. Jael is put through many trials and at times wonders if
God hears her prayers. After a while, the repetition of her internal battle
with her faith, altering between feelings of doubt and confirmation, becomes
tedious and at times slows the action. The novel reads like a book on how to
write a novel: put the heroine in one dangerous situation after another.
All Things Hidden didn’t encourage me to read Candis’s other
three novels, but if you, dear reader, enjoy stories with religious themes,
then you might enjoy Colorblind (1998), Still
Rage (2001), and Blood Offering (2002).
