Simon & Schuster
The chief protagonist is a young biblical archeologist, Maggie Shepherd, undertaking the opportunity of a lifetime: the removal and study of the divine relics of St. Nicholas, one of the most prized artifacts in the Christian world.
Dee Kelly Jr.
Hers is an intersection of faith and science.
The other leading character is Malachi Popov, a devoutly Catholic man who steals the relic on the command of a Russian mobster, a sin he immediately regrets but only commits because of the handsome reward that he desperately needs to care for his ailing elderly mother.
His is an intersection of the brokenness of the human condition, moral imperfection, and unconditional love.
Together, they team up in search for the artifact, a hunt fraught with the danger posed by nefarious figures of the underworld, all in the hope the pope can present it to the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Russia as a token of goodwill in an attempt to heal a 1,000-year schism.
There is lots to unpack here, but a page-turning thriller it is, a master of suspense that blends history and a hefty dose of spirituality and great character development throughout its 420-plus pages.
The Malachi Covenant is the work of fiction writer Dee Kelly Jr., better known for his lawyering as a partner at Kelly Hart, the renowned Fort Worth firm co-founded by his father.
Published by Forefront Books of Nashville and distributed by Simon & Schuster, The Malachi Covenant debuts in retail bookstores and digital formats on Tuesday.
The book is a first of sorts for Kelly, who has authored fiction in the past under a pseudonym. This one, however, is the first he has undertaken with a publisher and all that comes with it, such as publicity. It’s also the first he has written in a while. He began writing in college while at the University of Texas as a history and English undergraduate, but the avocation took a backseat to the practice of law and raising his family.
“At the time, I was managing partner of the firm so I didn't think it was a good idea to launch in that context,” he says. “So, I wrote under a pseudonym kind of quietly and finished a couple of books. I think they were good. They didn't do any marketing or any kind of publicity. I didn't use an agent.
This one he “leaned into,” writing under his name, he says, to demonstrate to the publisher his commitment to the promotion of the book and the work itself.
“I enjoyed [writing the previous books]. Over time people read the books and people kind of found out who I was. Then I stepped down as managing partner. When I started writing this one I kind of made a conscious effort I was going to do a lot more to try to promote the book. So, it took me a while.”
The book took three years to write, in fact, but it doesn’t take long to see why. There is a ton of historical background in the story. And, of course, Kelly is still a practicing attorney. This was not a project he took on in retirement.
The book is a testament to a love of storytelling and historical research, it is clear to see.
The Malachi Covenant serves to instruct on the connection of Christmas tradition and the man who gave birth to those customs, St. Nicholas of Myra, a bishop who lived in what is today Turkey in the late third and early fourth centuries. He is widely revered in both the Western and Eastern Christian traditions as a man devoted to piety, humility, and a dedication to helping those in need through acts of generosity and compassion.
Tales associated with him include his secret gift-giving. One story involves his throwing bags of gold through the window of a poor man's house to provide dowries for the man's three daughters, thus saving them from a life of destitution and prostitution. That narrative is the basis for the custom of hanging stockings by the fireplace at Christmas.
“I wanted to write a story that had some Christmas overtones because the holiday has been special in our family,” says Kelly. “And then I started researching about the real St. Nicholas and learned so much more than I knew and how much the real life person and the saint is revered in other cultures, especially in Russia. I knew about how special the relics were in the Catholic Church and the story kind of started coming together in my mind along that line.”
Kelly’s story begins with an anecdote from a daring mission undertaken by Italian merchants in the 11th century. Fearing the relics of St. Nicholas would be desecrated or destroyed in Turkey, sailors raided his tomb and transported the relics back to Bari, in Italy.
For centuries, the relics have been associated with miracles.
The shrine in Bari is where Maggie extracts the relics. It's there, in her initial encounter, that she sees firsthand a miraculous healing wonder. It is that very reason that a Russian mob boss wants it, and he has the means and uninhibited moral structure to go get it.
“I just wanted to write a story people read. And stay up and turn pages. I wanted that, first of all. That's the most important part,” Kelly says. “But secondly, there's a lot of stuff in there that I think, if you want to spend the time and think, there's a lot of stuff to think about. And, really, how you evaluate the events that occur and from what prism you see them, it really depends on your worldview and things. It was just written to be thought-provoking, and hopefully it is.”