Sunday, June 4, 2023

Review: Double Indemnity by Robert Whitlow

Genre: Legal Thriller
Publisher: Thomas Nelson 
Releases: June 6, 2023
432 pages
About the Book:

Someone stands to gain millions of dollars from a hunter’s accidental death . . . unless that death wasn’t an accident. Matt and Elena Thompson present the picture of perfection. But their enviable life isn’t all it seems. Their marriage is on the rocks, and financial disaster looms. Then Matt is killed in a hunting accident, and the questions and accusations begin to mount. Attorney Liz Acosta, newly arrived in the mountains of north Georgia after graduating from law school, plans to get some job experience on her resume before returning home to seek a position with a big-time firm. Intellectual pastor Connor Grantham isn’t sure that shepherding a rural congregation is what he ultimately wants to do with his life. Drawn to philosophy, theology, and nature, he’s beginning to feel more at home in north Georgia—especially after he meets the brilliant and energetic Liz. While Liz and Connor spend more time with each other and discover just how compatible two people from wildly different backgrounds can be, they’re also being drawn into the shadowy world of Matt and Elena Thompson. As the couple’s marriage counselor, Connor finds himself in the middle of their explosive arguments. As Elena’s attorney, Liz is caught in the tailspin created by Matt’s death. Together, Connor and Liz attempt to solve the mystery of what really happened to Matt. If his death is ruled an accident, then the double indemnity clause in his life insurance would go into effect, essentially doubling the payout. But as Liz sorts through the legal paperwork of who stands to gain an immense sum of money from Matt’s death, Connor is accused of the unthinkable with much more at stake than millions of dollars.


My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐


We are following Liz Acosta, who is a lawyer, and Connor Grantham, who is a pastor. Then there is Elena and Matt Thompson who are married couple receiving marriage counselling from Connor. Elena has approached Liz about possible divorce proceedings asking what her options are, etc. However, Matt dies very early into the book and questions get asked. Was it an accident, murder, or suicide? As the lawyers are working through the case, they discover life insurance policies with a clause called Double Indemnity. Which means if something happened to Matt and it was accidental the beneficiary will get double the life insurance amount, so a 1 million policy could turn into a 2 million policy. But if the death was not accidental and the beneficiary had anything to do with it there would be no payout. Liz and Connor are both trying to help Elena deal with events through their professional relationship with her and through this mutual connection they get to know one another fairly well. Elena could be difficult to deal with, one day she was fine and the next day it was like a completely different person. This was kind of expected as she was dealing with the shock of losing her husband. She became really dependent on both Connor and Liz. Connor is a single male and tries to be very cautious of the way he approaches all females within the church because of that, however Elena is continually pushing boundaries. I found the law side easy to follow once I understood what the Double Indemnity clause meant. I quickly became invested wanting to know if this was a tragic accident or something more. There were quite a few layers to the story because we have the current wife, an ex-wife with kids, and a business partnership. Add in the fact that Elena very dependant on Connor and then suspicious of anytime Liz and Connor are together. It is a small town and Liz attends the church Connor pastors. There is a bit of romance in the story, but it is not the primary storyline more happens in the background and I enjoyed seeing it develop. I really enjoyed the characters, following the mystery and figuring out what was going on. I had my suspicions of who we could trust and who maybe we couldn't. The whole story felt realistic, the way rumors spread throughout a small town, the actions of Connor and the church members. There is a large faith element in this story, we get to really know Connor, see him preparing for his sermons and his passion to be a Godly example to others. I really enjoyed these characters. 

(I received an ARC of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

Check out my reviews of other books by this author: 

   

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