Review: Fatal Convictions by Randy Singer

Genre: Legal Thriller
Publisher: Tyndale House 
Released: Aug. 1, 2010
397 pages

About the Book:

Alexander Madison is part lawyer, part pastor, and part con artist. When a Muslim imam is accused of instigating honor killings, Alex must decide whether to take the case that every other lawyer in town is running away from. He doesn’t realize until it’s too late that defending the imam may cost him the one thing in life he cares about most. Fatal Convictions is the story of a lawyer willing to risk it all and the women who must choose between faith and love.

  

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Alex works as a part-time pastor and part-time lawyer. His firm gets hired to defend a muslin leader who was been charged with instigating honor killings. The man says he is not guilty, but the prosecution has some very compelling evidence against him. Alex struggles wanting to be one to fight this case and wants to drop it, but his business partner is determined that they should take on the case. Over time Alex’s opinion changes but he receives backlash from his church board due to the publicity of the case. There were some very gruesome and intense scenes included in this story that I wasn’t expecting, and I was worried that it would cause me to lose sleep, but I was okay. I became so invested in the story that I didn’t want to put the book down, but I forced myself to take breaks due to the dark subject matter. I learned quite a bit about the muslin faith that I didn’t know. I enjoyed the courtroom scenes and following Alex and Shannon while they tried to defend the case even though they weren’t sure on the guilt of their client. I liked the mix of the courtroom scenes, the research aspects, and the personal activities of the characters. The conflict with the church board felt realistic and I liked how the faith element was added in with Alex looking to God to help him decide how to proceed. I also enjoyed the scenes between Alex and his grandmother, she helped guide him without telling him what to do. While this was a pretty dark subject matter I liked most of the storyline. I did struggle with the scenes between Alex and Nora as their relationship just felt wrong for a pastor as they come from 2 different beliefs. There were quite a few twists and turns over the course of the story and while there are some scenes told from the villain’s perspective I was shocked by the final reveal. I especially loved that an epilogue was included to give us an update on how life was going for Alex a year later, I was pleased with how his story wrapped up.

“Christ’s entire message was based on God’s willingness to forgive our sins, not just one time, but for all time.”

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

Check out my reviews of other books by this author: 

   

The Judge

Review: Broken Wings by Terri Blackstock

Series: Second Chances #4
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: Zondervan
Released: Jan. 4, 1998
272 pages

About the Book:

Among the 151 people who died in the crash of Flight 94 was Mick Hammon, the plane's captain and Erin Russell's close friend. A pilot herself, Erin now struggles with the shattering losses both of her friend and of her own confidence in the cockpit. With pilot error speculated as the cause of the accident, Erin fights to save Mick's reputation for the sake of the family he left behind. But that fight pits her against Addison Lowe, the crash investigator. Like Erin, he is determined to get at the truth of the disaster. But his conclusions could ruin Mick's good name and the future of Mick's family. Clashing over the details of the disaster, Erin and Addison discover an unexpected, mutual attraction for each other. But it could go down in flames as the investigation spins out of control.

  

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐

Addison Lowe works with the NTSB and is investigating a plane crash that claimed the life of everyone on board. Erin Russell is a pilot who was supposed to be on that flight, but due to circumstances that happened she was not on the flight and is now fighting feelings of grief and guilt. Was it pilot error that caused the crash or was it a system malfunction? Addison has to interview Erin for background on the pilot that died and the two immediately clash as Erin has her guard up. I felt for both characters and the feelings the were dealing with. This story felt much more like a mystery than the previous books and I really liked that Addison kept digging until he was positive about the cause of the crash instead of caving to the pressure to close the case quickly. If he had caved the true cause would not have been found and other would pay the price. The one thing I did not like was the personal relationship build between Addison and Erin, the timing felt wrong and should have been a conflict of interest. I also didn’t like Erin’s attitude to Addison’s questions. 

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

Check out my reviews of other books by this author: 

   

Smoke Screen

Catching Christmas

If I Run - If I Run #1

If I'm Found - If I Run #2

If I Live - If I Run #3

Never Again Good-bye - Second Chances #1

When Dreams Cross - Second Chances #2

Blind Trust - Second Chances #3

YT: Priority Reads for 2022

In today's video I am sharing the books I decided to prioritize for the the year by putting on my TBR bingo. If I read all these books this year, what should be my reward? 

 

Review: Blind Trust by Terri Blackstock

Series: Second Chances #4
Genre: Myserty/Suspense
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: Jan. 4, 1998
237 pages

About the Book:

Sherry's life lay in the hands of the man she loved the most ... and trusted the least

Two weeks before he was to marry Sherry Grayson, Clint Jessup disappeared without a trace. Now, suddenly, eight months later, he's back with no word of explanation. Only an impossible request: trust him.

Trust him despite the devastating past ... and an inexplicable and increasingly frightening present. Whatever secret Clint is hiding, it's changed him. And it's about to change Sherry, sweeping her and Clint into a terrifying whirlpool of pursuit and intrigue—one where death and deliverance teeter on a razor edge of circumstance that can either restore or forever destroy Sherry's faith not only in Clint, but in others, and perhaps in God himself.

  

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐

Eight months ago Clint disappeared without a trace days before his wedding, now he has returned and wants to talk with Sherry but he is evasive about why he left and where he has been. Sherry then receives a threatening note so Clint kidnaps her and her roommate under the pretense of protecting them but the girls aren’t sure if he can be trusted. Clint asks Sherry to trust him but after having her heartbroken by him she struggles with believing what he says. He finally can tell her why he disappeared, what is going on and asks her to trust him and support him, however she pressures him to do what she wants to do. I understand that she was heartbroken when Clint disappeared, but her attitude annoyed me. I found it difficult to root for her. I enjoyed the secondary characters of Sam and Madeline and following their part of the story much more than Sherry and Clint. However I was impressed with Clint and his determination to do the right thing.

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

Check out my reviews of other books by this author: 

   

Smoke Screen

Catching Christmas
If I Run - If I Run #1

If I'm Found - If I Run #2

If I Live - If I Run #3

Never Again Good-bye - Second Chances #1

When Dreams Cross - Second Chances #2