I read and reviewed 13 of the books responding to The Da Vinci Code in an effort to weed out the good from the poor. I acknowledge that I missed a few, but I’m out of time and motivation :) I graded each book according to 5 categories, as explained below:

Readability- There are some technical textual, historical, and historical discussions revolving around the claims of the novel. How well are these adapted so that the reader can grasp them yet learn something? Is the author’s writing style clear and engaging?

Arguments- Does the author provide sound evidence to back up his or her claims? How well are the arguments put together? Are they persuasive?

Diversity- Does the author sufficiently cover all of the significant issues brought up by the novel?

Resourceability- Is the book easily used as an informative resource? This would include indexes, references to websites and other books, study guides, glossaries, etc.

Gnosticism/Sacred Feminine- Though The Da Vinci Code makes a number of serious claims, most serious is its promotion of the Gnostic worldview. How well does the author explain and critique Gnosticism and “the sacred feminine”?
BookReviewReadabilityArgumentsDiversityResourceabilityGnosticismTotal %
Breaking the Da Vinci Code by Darrell BockReview8887677
The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code by Richard AbanesReview99103368
The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Ficiton? by Hank Hanegraaff and Paul MaierReview109109688
Cracking Da Vinci's Code by James Garlow & Peter JonesReview10101081096
Reinventing Jesus by J. Ed Komoszewski, M. James Sawyer, & Daniel WallaceReview1010810688
Exploring the Da Vinci Code by Lee Strobel & Garry PooleReview108710682
De-Coding Da Vinci by Amy WelbornReview107107782
Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code by Bart EhrmanReview9773664
The Gospel According to the Da Vinci Code by Kenneth Boa & John Alan TurnerReview9772458
The Gospel Code by Ben Witherington IIIReview10998990
The Da Vinci Deception by Erwin LutzerReview10477770
The Da Vinci CodeBreaker by James GarlowReview108108990
The Da Vinci Myth versus the Gospel Truth by D. James Kennedy & Jerry NewcombeReview9673458
Discussing the Da Vinci Cdoe DVD KitReview109710684
The Da Vinci Deception Experience DVD KitReview105710574


Recommendations:
Of the books I reviewed, Cracking Da Vinci’s Code was by far the best. The authors understood the importance of dealing with the Gnostic worldview as well as the other issues. It provides a compelling defense of Christianity without going over peoples’ heads.
For those who are looking for a brief analysis of the novel, The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction? is a short but quality critique and defense of Christianity. Being only $5.99, it works for the financially challenged as well.
Reinventing Jesus is perhaps the most academic response I reviewed, covering many technical details of textual criticism, history and theology. However, it’s also very accessible and is a good introduction to those areas for those who might be looking to dig deeper.
There are primarily two DVD curriculum’s available. One by Erwin Lutzer and one by Lee Strobel. While Lutzer’s has an excellent leader’s guide, Strobel’s Discussing the Da Vinci Code is far better in terms of content. Students will find it engaging and insightful as they learn from real scholars who skillfully defend the Christian faith.