The Book of Judges: A Novel

by Gary Fields

For fans of Dan Brown, a debut contemporary thriller about a young lawyer thrust into a deadly search for an ancient secret—one that has the power to steer the course of destiny.

A beloved judge is murdered. His virus-infected laptop holds an ancient secret. Young lawyer Joshua Sutton, together with doctoral candidate Samantha Bollinger and tech wizard Mark Roth, are thrust into a deadly three-day quest for answers—a quest that leads them across millennia.

As Mark extracts clues from the computer, Josh and Sammi are chased around Florida by the hulking murderer and others who desperately want the laptop.

Josh and Sammi realize they’ve both been haunted by dreams about historical judges. In Mongol-ruled China, Imperial Rome, Byzantium, post-Renaissance Venice, Henry VIII’s England, and Charlemagne’s Frankish kingdom, judges heroically seek justice in life-and-death cases that come to define human rights. As they do, they are exposed to a startling secret.

Josh, Sammi, and Mark end up in a pulse-pounding race to New York City to stop the murder of another judge, one who could potentially save humanity.

331 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication February 24, 2026

Reviews

[Stavroula Kalantzis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book of Judges was a great read about a law student who falls across historical information going back centuries and millennia while witnessing the murder of his mentor, Neville Maloch. His adventures start with the murderer pursuing Josh across Florida but soon Josh gets Sammi, another research assistant of Maloch’s, involved and with the help of Mark, a techie friend, they attempt to decipher the meaning behind the list of names of judges that Maloch protected and ultimately died for. The storyline brimmed with suspense and drama keeping the reader at the edge of their seat with twists and turns of the plot as it thickened in the evolving narrative. The author craftily weaves scenarios of biblical import into the novel and highlights the historical significance of the judges from past centuries to the actual Bible of today. Reading this thriller certainly kept me entertained and engaged with the characters all the way through the end of the novel and I hope to read more from this author with a possible sequel. The book was well researched, well paced, and well written.

[Swapna Peri ( Book Reviews Cafe ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Book of Judges" by Gary Fields is an exciting thriller about a young lawyer named Josh who finds himself in a dangerous adventure after a judge he knows is killed. The judge had a laptop that holds a big secret about important judges from history. Josh, along with a student named Sammi and a tech expert named Mark, try to figure out the secret while being chased by bad guys. They learn that the secret could change the future and have to stop another judge from being killed in just three days. The story also shows flashbacks of judges from different times and places like ancient Rome and medieval England, making it interesting and full of history.

The book's speciality is its mix of history, mystery, and fast action. The characters share dreams about past judges, and the book explores important ideas about justice and how decisions affect the world. The story keeps you hooked with its exciting chase and reveals, even though some parts about the secret could have been explained better. Overall, it’s a thrilling read that mixes old and new stories about judges and justice.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting story based on the biblical Book of Judges that continues the continues the Bible's story into modern times. Throughout history, judges are dying, either murdered or by their own hand, otherwise they are locked up as insane. The timing of the judges rise indicates that another is due now, in fact in days. Is this judge good or bad for humanity? Does this judge have to be destroyed or protected. Josh, Sammi and Mark must work fast to figure out next steps, while their mentors are being slain and they are being chased by Chinese nationalists, church figures and possibly even the FBI. Who is with them and who is against them? A tale that will keep you trying to guess until the end.

[Caardel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a deeper read than I anticipated. The story started very slowly for me and about 40 percent in I started to enjoy the story. Part mystery and part biblical, this was overall a decent read. Thank you to NetGalley and SparkPress for providing me an ARC of this novel.

[J R · Rating 3 out of 5]

fast ride without that much depth but if you turn your brain off and watch it works really well. 3 stars. tysm for the arc.