Reviewed by Trudi LoPreto for Readers' Favorite

In Judas In Jerusalem by Joseph Lewis Heil, we are introduced to Judas Iscariot as a young boy living with an abusive father and later a stepfather who wants him out of the way. Judas wanders about, learning to steal, lie and cheat. When he collapses in the desert, John the Baptist finds him and takes care of Judas until he is well enough to travel again. John suggests he look for his cousin, Jesus, who can teach him to read and write and offer him a chance to travel the country along with his disciples. Judas takes this advice, learns to read and write and becomes an important part of the team. But his main goal is to get to Jerusalem, where he believes he will get a good job, a wife and a small home. This plan begins to fall into place for Judas but when he meets Simon and Samuel, members of the Sanhedrin, they offer him a job that they promise will pay him a lot of money. He believes his lifetime wish has finally come true...

Judas In Jerusalem by Joseph Lewis Heil has merged history and the Bible in a flawless combination of truth and fiction. The story tells of the childhood of Jesus, playing with his cousin John the Baptist. It follows Jesus all the way to Judas's kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane and him dying on the cross. Thus, leaving the question unanswered - is Judas the betrayer or the betrayed? I really enjoyed the combination of a fictional story laced with real history that Joseph Lewis Heil has written. I recommend Judas In Jerusalem to all readers who enjoy reading about religious history as well as those who enjoy a story about a man who faces good and evil and is forced to learn the difference.