Death Comes for the Deconstructionist

I love this book. The way it ends (and I won’t spoil it here) is about as satisfying as a murder mystery can be. -- John Piper, author of Desiring God
Daniel Taylor blends a passion for theology, civil rights, and the saving grace of story in a mystery involving an unlikely pair of underdog investigators – the psychologically broken Jon Mote and his ever hopeful, developmentally challenged older sister, Judy. Known primarily for his nonfiction books, Taylor displays the natural skills of a crime writer in his debut novel set in the world of academia. His plot begins conventionally, but eventually evolves into something much deeper. Death Comes for the Deconstructionist is a fascinating exploration of what is ultimately good and true. * Naomi Hirahara, Edgar Award-winning author of the Mas Arai and Officer Ellie Rush mysteries *
This whodunit from Dan Taylor is a cause for celebration. His Jon Mote rivals Harry Bosch, and Taylor's ventures into literature, religion, and notions of progress shine, challenge, and stun. With his remarkable sidekick, Judy, Jon Mote, ‘an expert on things he wished he didn't know,’ is not simply looking into a puzzling death. He is exploring his own odds of finding transformative life. Great books are those that force readers to reexamine the very ground on which they stand. Death Comes for the Deconstructionist is such a book – a luminous performance. * Dale Brown, Director of Buechner Institute *
In Death Comes for the Deconstructionist, Daniel Taylor has written not only a highly engaging murder mystery but also a metaphysical page-turner – a strange and wonderful cross between Walker Percy and G. K. Chesterton. His oddly reluctant Sherlock Holmes is accompanied by the most unusual and heartwarming Watson in my reading experience. * Paul J. Willis, author of The Alpine Tales *
Jon Mote – by his own admission a clueless detective – is asked to solve the murder of a renowned English professor. Despite his bumbling efforts he discovers truth, not only concerning the murder but, more profoundly, concerning himself and his painful past. This witty, tragicomic novel slices a scalpel into the heart of the modern university and lays bare the intellectual and spiritual bankruptcy of its reigning ideologies. * Hugh Cook, author of Heron River *
One part academic satire, one part mystery, and one part theological investigation, this pleasingly disorienting novel packs a wicked punch. Like life itself, Daniel Taylor gives us a story in which all sorts of incongruous elements are jumbled together. (Reality is not fastidious.) But is there – could there be – a pattern nonetheless, a great design amid all the confusion? * John Wilson, Editor, Books & Culture *