There are books that honour sacred history, and there are books that should never have been written. The Day After His Crucifixion belongs firmly in the latter category.

Presented as a fictional account of the aftermath of Christ’s death through the eyes of Mary Magdalene, this debut claims to offer spiritual depth and feminine insight. Instead, it delivers a mishmash of factual inaccuracies, jarring modernisms, and cheap pseudo-feminist pandering that borders on offensive.

To begin with, the historical errors are inexcusable. Lazarus is said to have been raised before Jairus’s daughter—an elementary blunder that anyone remotely familiar with the Gospels would never make. If you're going to write about the most sacred event in Christian belief, you have a responsibility to know what you're talking about. McLeod clearly doesn’t.

Worse still is her portrayal of the female characters. Rather than embodying reverence, conviction, or even complexity, they often come across as bitter, preachy caricatures—delivering thinly veiled insults toward the Apostles, the very men chosen by Christ. This is not a celebration of female discipleship. It’s a petty attempt at modern ideological rewriting, with no respect for faith, tradition, or Scripture.

The dialogue is a disaster—clumsy, contemporary, and utterly devoid of grace. There is no sense of time or sacred atmosphere. The women sound like they’ve stepped out of a mediocre blog post, not first-century Judea. And St. Mary Magdalene? Stripped of mystery, holiness, and power—reduced to a bland, preachy narrator with no spiritual gravity.

As if the text wasn’t disappointing enough, I received a personal email from the author asking me to leave “a few good words” or “at least 5 stars.” Let me be absolutely clear: that is a violation of professional ethics. Reviews exist to inform readers—not to reward authors who guilt-trip reviewers after distributing poorly researched work. Your book is not owed praise simply because you “poured your heart into it.” If anything, that heart should have gone into research and respect for the subject matter.

This book disrespects the faith it pretends to uphold, and it insults the intelligence of readers. I do not recommend it. Not for Christians. Not for readers of historical fiction. Not for anyone who values literary integrity.

The Day After His Crucifixion is an amazing look at a group of women whose lives were changed in their encounter with Jesus, and the heartbreaking period between His death and resurrection. Women who had witnessed healings or had been healed themselves, those who had been rescued from a merciless mob, seen miracles among everyday life. Jesus was light and life and encouragement. Then came the sham of a trial under cover of night, and the Messiah died a shameful death, executed, his followers scattered and bewildered. The women suffered as well, losing Jesus who had valued them as equal to men, the same women who went to the tomb to properly attend to His body, the ones who received the great good news that He had indeed arisen as He said He would, in person. This is an encouraging novella, very well done.

Mourning women gathered throughout the day after the crucifixion of Jesus at the small house of Mary Magdeline. In fear they spoke quietly of their shock, sorrow and overwhelming confusion and disappointment at His arrest and execution. The stories they have to tell as each one struggles to accept and understand what has taken place.
I want to thank Front Porch Publishing, the author Merikay McLeod and NetGalley for my advanced e-copy of this novella. This is my own unsolicited opinion. I loved this and will read it again. This is a fictionalized account of how the gathering and conversations may have gone between the women who followed, were healed and worshipped the teacher, Rabii, Master and leader, Yeshua, Jesus Christ, the day after He died.
The author has taken scripture and has different women reflect on how He had specifically touched their lives from the woman who was brought before Him to be stoned, to the one who had faith to touch His garment and be healed; and more. I enjoyed thinking about these women and how they must have felt when it seemed like their world was crashing down. They were deep in shock and mourning. Did they have hope or were their beliefs shattered? Were they terrified that they would be next now that the enemies of Christ had tortured and killed Him?
Then, the glory that a woman was chosen to be the first person to see the resurrected Christ and asked to let the other followers know that He had conquered death.
This novella made me think in a way that I hadn't before. What did they do in the hours after their beloved leader was taken away? How did they react? I think anyone who shares the faith in the risen Son of God will enjoy this offering as it makes the reader wonder about the women who were blessed to share in His earthly journey. It could be interesting to those who don't believe as it shows a bit of life for women during this period of history.
This is a five-star read for me.