Whitehouse has taken on the seemingly impossible task of retelling the four Gospels of the New Testament in a contemporary setting with reality television as the backdrop. After Josh Gardner and his TV superstar wife are killed in a car accident, Josh miraculously comes back to life and spends the next 40 days in the desert. Following his cleansing and the rebirth of his spirit, Josh shows up as the newest judge on The Miracle Mile (think America's Got Talent). The contestants are sinners of all types, and Josh uses his newfound healing powers to rid them of what ails them. VERDICT This debut novel doesn't live up to its daring premise. A multitude of characters are introduced but are never fully developed, and the writing could be of better quality. Readers looking for modern-day biblical retellings would be better off with Elizabeth Berg's The Handmaid and the Carpenter or Joseph F. Girzone's Joshua in a Troubled World. Whitehouse writes about and teaches the Spiritual Laws of Prosperity, Bible metaphysics, and Kabbalah, so this book might appeal to New Age and visionary fiction fans.
