Witness Protection by Robert Whitlow - A Book Review

 

 

Witness Protection may be a slow-paced suspense story that does not contain a great deal of action scenes with high speed chases and guns blazing, but there is indeed action. The action actually occurs in the supernatural realm of spiritual warfare. The main warrior is an elderly, arthritic aunt backed up by her prayer partner. Their attention to the soft voice of the Holy Spirit, their discernment of the needs of others, and their obedience in prayer drives the outcome of the story and is a great model for readers.

While the story contains realistic dialogue, it is driven by the author's description of what is occurring. Whitlow's writing gives readers adequate time to consider the message, the themes, and the plot direction. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of Witness Protection from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own. 

Guilty Until Innocent by Robert Whitlow - A Book Review

  

It had been a couple of years since I had read a Robert Whitlow novel, and I was so ready for one. His legal thrillers are always thoroughly engaging and Guilty Until Innocent is one of his best. Tension normally doesn’t sound like a good thing, not an environment one longs to be in, but the tension Whitlow builds within this story is the kind that is compelling, the kind that combines angst and that tingle of anticipation.

 Ryan Clark’s law career had gotten off to a rocky start. It seems as if Ryan, working for his third law office, is living life waiting for the other shoe to fall. He doesn’t want to let his faithful and supportive wife down again. So, when circumstances arise that involve a twenty-year-old murder case, his current boss, and threats from an unknown source, Ryan has to decide whether to pursue safety and security or justice. The stakes just keep getting higher.

 Whitlow masterfully includes characters with deep faith and those with emerging faith in Christ. Their lives are testimonies to the value of faith and the goodness of God. Whitlow demonstrates that one’s value is determined by God rather than money or position.

 I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of Guilty Until Innocent from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Double Indemnity by Robert Whitlow - A Book Review

  

Reverend Connor Grantham, a scholarly pastor, serves a church in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in north Georgia. He loves the outdoor life the area has to offer. Unfortunately his life grows more and more complicated in relation to the complications growing in the lives of the couple he is counseling. The wife has a way of making her problems his problems. As she also does for her attorney, Liz Acosta.

At about twenty percent into Double Indemnity, I told my husband, also a Robert Whitlow fan, that this book just didn't feel like a Robert Whitlow novel. It just felt flat. Then around a third of the way in, there it was, Robert Whitlow's voice that I'd been missing. I am not really sure if it was because I finally became engaged with the story or because the author did. From that point on, the story was compelling, and well worth the time invested.

I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of Double Indemnity from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own. 

Relative Justice by Robert Whitlow - A Book Review

   

Relative Justice moved at a much slower pace than most other Robert Whitlow legal fiction books that I have read, but it suited the story. While the first eighty-five percent of the story is slow and easy, the last fifteen percent will have you on pins and needles. Whitlow spent time developing his characters and their relationship with God, and most readers will be delighted with the result. There were a few details that did not seem quite realistic, but that did not detract from the story overly much. The theme of listening to and for the voice of God in both big and small things is well developed through attorney David Cobb's character as he interacts with others and as he handles a pharmaceutical patent infringement case along with his sister-in-law, attorney Katelyn Martin-Cobb.

I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of Relative Justice from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own. 

Trial and Error by Robert Whitlow - A Book Review

    

Blair Smith, AKA Buddy, an attorney in Milton County, Georgia, had spent his adult life searching for the daughter he hadn't seen since she was an infant, now a seventeen-year-old young woman. This pursuit of his daughter and her mother, his high school girlfriend, had led him to assist parents whose children had been taken by their non-custodial parent. Now it had also led him to assist in locating a runaway girl who shared his daughter's birthday, and who was likely being trafficked. This intense, emotional story also delves into the importance and power of a life of prayer, and encourages perseverance even after years of praying.

While this story did progress a little slowly at times, it did build in intensity. I would recommend it to those who enjoy contemporary fiction or legal fiction. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of Trial and Error from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Promised Land by Robert Whitlow - A Book Review

    

Like every Robert Whitlow book I have ever read, I did not want this book to end. Readers cannot help but get deeply involved in the lives of Hana Abboud Hasan and her husband, Daub, Christian Arabs living in Atlanta, Georgia. Hana and Daub married following the harrowing events told in Book One of Whitlow's Chosen People series. (I won't include any spoilers for those who haven't had the pleasure of reading it yet.) Daub has moved his security business to live in the United States where Hana is an attorney. After briefly returning to the Middle East as a contractor with the CIA, trouble follows him both home and abroad, impacting those for whom he cares. This action packed, tension-filled novel will follow readers wherever they go as well, but the only trouble involved will be chores left undone and sleepless nights. Throughout the story readers will be reminded that we are not guaranteed tomorrow and that our safety lies in God's hands.

I received a complimentary copy of Promised Land. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Chosen People by Robert Whitlow - A Book Review

   

Robert Whitlow's legal suspense stories never fail to intrigue. His knowledge of our country's legal system adds credibility to his novels. In Chosen People Whitlow demonstrates that his knowledge is not limited to our country's borders, as this book is set in both the U.S. and the Middle East. Whitlow confronts the need to hold those who fund terrorism accountable. He also gives his readers a glimpse into the complexity of being a Christian of Middle Eastern heritage.

Hana Abboud, a Christian Arab Israeli, practices law at a firm in Atlanta, Georgia. Because of her knowledge of the languages and cultures of the area, Hana is asked to represent the firm in a case involving the death of an American woman killed by terrorists in Jerusalem. Hana would be working with an attorney from a small firm, Jakob Brodsky, a secular Jew from a Russian background, who had approached a senior partner of the larger firm about being co-counsel in the case. Their first order of business would be to uncover connections between the terrorists and a funding entity who would then be sued. Little did Hana and Jakob know the impact this case would have on their own lives.

I would recommend Chosen People, and indeed any book by this author, to fans of mysteries and suspense. Whitlow's work appeals to both men and women. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A Time to Stand by Robert Whitlow - A Book Review

    

     This is truly a book for this time in America. Robert Whitlow takes on the topic of racial unrest, and sets it in the deep south where it has the deepest roots. He works his plot around the shooting of an unarmed, black teenaged male by a white policeman. Whitlow surrounds the story with strong, Christian characters on either side of this legal drama. Right in the middle he places a young, black female attorney who is part of the police officer’s defense council.

     Whitlow deals with the difficulty humans of any color have distinguishing between their idea of how they view the world, and how they are truly seeing it through their personal lens, a lens formed by personal experience, collective experience, the media, and the depth of their relationship with the Author of love. He places this hand in hand with the assumptions each person makes about how others see them. Ultimately through the acts of love of mature saints, the reader comes to realize the impact of seeing ourselves and others through God’s eyes. Well-known pastor Chip Ingram would say we need an accurate view of God and an accurate view of ourselves.

     A Time to Stand would be a great book club book, and provides thoughtful questions for discussion. It is also a great book for individual reading and personal reflection. It is one of those stories that can be enjoyed on a surface level for the entertaining, legal thriller that it is, but begs not to be read on such a shallow level. It is a story that won’t be forgotten once the covers are closed for the final time. While readers will be reminded of Deshaun Hamlin and Luke Nelson as they watch the evening news, I hope that A Time to Stand will be a catalyst to taking a stand of their own, a stand for love, forgiveness, reconciliation and unity.

     I thank NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for providing me with a copy of A Time to Stand in exchange for an honest review. I received no monetary compensation for providing this review.