I love Geraldine Brooks’ writing, even when I’m not particularly interested in the subject matter (see: Horse) as was the case with The Secret Chord, a novel focused on the biblical King David. And I’ll be honest, if it wasn’t written by her, I probably wouldn’t have finished it, and of all her books, it’s the only one I can say I didn’t much care for. Mostly that’s due to the subject, but I also felt like it was too glancing of a portrayal, particularly of the many wives, of whom I was much more interested than in David.