Woman of God - James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
This is the first ever James Patterson book I've read, and I have some mixed thoughts.
Firstly, the book is very easy to read. The chapters are short, the sentences are simple, and as a result, I flew through the book at pace. If this is what other Patterson books are like, then I can see why he would be a popular author to read.
Secondly, being a co-written book, I am unsure how much of the plot and writing is Patterson and how much is his collaborator. Apparently, Patterson has written over 200 books, but as many of them are co-written, it is likely that many of his co-writers do the heavy lifting.
Thirdly, although the book is easy to read, I'm not sure I would call it 'well-written.' With the chapters being short - and with a lot of plot to get through - the book doesn't dwell very long on any given scene, meaning that the reader doesn't have a lot of time to emotionally invest in anything that is going on. Within this book, our main character (Dr Brigid Fitzgerald) faces numerous horrific moments, is surrounded by war and death, gets shot various times, loses a few loved ones - including a child(!) - and is otherwise exposed to harsh realities of life, and although I intellectually know that those would be affecting moments, we never dwell on them long enough to feel Brigid's pain; too quickly we are on to the next adventure.
Fourthly, as the title indicates, Brigid has a faith - in fact, the book opens with a scene that suggests Brigid is in the running to be the next pope - yet, I would be surprised if Patterson or Paetro share that faith. If they do have a form of faith, it is certainly a long way from orthodox. So, Brigid gets visions of a sort from God, including God talking to her, and yet these moments of communication seem quite outside the experience that I would say most Christian believers have. Brigid herself acknowledges that God speaks to her in unusual ways, and yet there is a moment when this 'God speaking' element is hyped up as somehow super-controversial - when most believers would happily state that God speaks to them, at least on occasion. The context of what Brigid hears is the bit that most convinces me that the authors are writing a fictionalised form of faith, rather than the fact that she does.
Patterson and Paetro seem convinced that a faith that is fairly 'watered down' from 'traditional' forms of Christianity (in this instance, and - I suppose - to help the 'possibly becoming the first female pope' subplot, it is Roman Catholicism), and a faith that is more 'inclusive' and open to other ways of believing (at one point Brigid mentions that "people from other faiths...wanted to replicate" the form of Christianity that her and her partner were expounding (pg 257)) is the way to grow the church, and to see people come to a 'God of love.' It is a very liberal argument that I do not believe is reflected in reality.
Another issue is that even the characters who would know their scriptures the best make basic mistakes in their arguments, including at one point when three characters - who are trained ministers - dismiss "historic church elders who laid down Church law blocking women from the priesthood" by quoting Paul, Tertullian and "Timothy," (pg 276) even though any student of theology (or even regular Bible-reader) would know that the Letter to Timothy was also written by Paul. Those who do hear from God are also very quick to abandon Biblical precedent in pursuit of what they 'feel'... and although in a few instances there are reasons for that paradigm shift, it does feel as though people trained in theology would not make such large shifts in their theology so quickly.
Overall, this was not a book I would recommend. It was certainly a lot easier to read than some books I have slogged through recently, and was much cleaner than some I have given up on, but it's very foreign and fictional take on the faith I hold so dear leaves me unable to connect with it, even to the extent that its short scenes could theoretically allow!
If you wanted to read a book about a faith journey, there are many biographies I could suggest that are far better. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi and I Dared to Call Him Father by Bilquis Sheikh, to name a few.
Completed 19 April 2026.
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