I stumbled upon this book in the library, and it is truly a gem. A modern-day parable set against a pre-Christmas theme, the story is set in London but takes the two main protagonists, Alice and her uncle Sam, on adventures through time and space that draw them to faith in spite of themselves. The advent calendar is a gift, purportedly won in an unnamed contest, and unfolds its secrets on a day by day basis after Alice and Sam enter the codes sent to Sam's phone each day. The codes consist of three to five entries all including a colon in the middle. The savvy reader will soon decipher the mystery of the codes, but by the end of the book at least part of the mystery is uncovered. This story can be read on many levels and should provide intrigue for all readers, whether they are faith-based readers or not. A winner, and one that I intend to buy to keep in my own collection. ( )