This is a puzzling book. One would expect, with the known wit, warmth and penetrating Gospel insights of D.L. Moody, that it would have been easy for a Moody enthusiast and biographer to amass a wealth of memorable passages and aphorisms from the preacher's writings. On the evidence of this work, that is not the case.

The format of the book is similar to that of previous participants in the '365 Days' series, eg .Newton and Spurgeon. The page for each day's reading is headed with a verse of Scripture; a number of relevant quotes from Moody follow (with a reference to their source); and finally there is a paragraph 'for meditation', from the pen of Belmonte himself. In the reviewer's opinion, the Moody quotations are insufficiently related to the Scripture text; they are too short (often one-liners, but without the bite associated with the genre); and the Belmonte commentary, although much longer, tends to be rambling and incoherent.

What do we gain from using this book as a daily devotional? Many of the Moody quotes, although short and uncontextualised, do strike home. They also open a window on the character of the man – guileless, utterly sincere and committed to the salvation of the lost.

Donald Mackay, Knox Church Perth