With each of Robert Whitlow's books I read, I grow increasingly impressed. His 2006 book The Trial deals with small-town power, trust fund corruption, and a drive for conviction, no matter what the facts show. Mac MacClain gets stuck with defending a young man accused of killing his friend, an heiress whose family wields considerable power in their little town. In a way, it's open-and-shut, guilty as charged, but more and more details put a question in Mac's legal mind.
Suffering from his own loss of his wife and two sons a few years before, dealing with another family's loss amplifies his struggles with desperate feelings. Thankfully, an expert witness on the case catches his eye and offers friendship that points him toward salvation.
Whitlow has written a strong legal thriller, with bad guys lurking in the background, their existence only hinted at throughout much of the book. He offers just enough misdirection to lead the reader to suspect one character, but upon the revelation of the true villain, it all comes together nicely.
But what sets Whitlow apart from other writers of legal fiction is the way he weaves the characters' faith into the story. Some of the characters are people for whom their Christian faith and church life are more than tangential, but are central to the way they live and work. Whitlow doesn't throw the gospel in the readers' faces, but writes realistically about how average people engage their faith in daily life, and how their faith in Jesus helps them respond to crisis.
The Trial has all the elements of enjoyable legal fiction, with the added bonus of believably presentating of the character's faith without distracting from the plot. Pick it up.
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