“Esther: The Peasant Girl Who Saved a Nation” tells the story of a young peasant girl named Esther who becomes queen. Her uncle, Mordecai, offends the palace’s Chief of Security, Hamman, which sets off the actions of the novel. Mordecai’s unwillingness to bow to a man of his equal angers Hamman, who seeks revenge. But Hamman’s desire for revenge is altered by his own greed, and he takes his plan too far. He betrays the king and queen and plots to kill all the Jews in the kingdom.
Eleanor Liggens has an excellent hand for fast-paced, engaging tales. This is the third of her books that I have read, and I have been pinned to the pages throughout each. This is definitely my favorite. She draws. her characters with such care that we can not only visualize them but cheer for them and mourn them.
The action of the final third of the book was so enthralling that I raced through it, desperate for the next page. I love books that can pull me in like that. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking biblical fiction. Did we just create a new genre?