Friday, January 3, 2025

Guilty Until Innocent by Robert Whitlow

Genre: Legal Fiction 
Publisher: Thomas Nelson 
Releases: February 4, 2025
448 pages
About the Book:

When an old case is reopened, two lawyers work to prove a man's innocence despite the odds stacked against them.

After being fired from his last two jobs, Ryan Clark lands an associate position with a law firm run by his distant cousin, Tom, in a small North Carolina town. Over twenty-five years earlier, Tom represented local man Joe Moore when he was convicted of murder in the deaths of a prominent young couple. Even though the evidence was circumstantial, Joe was high on drugs and doesn't remember the details of the crime. He never seriously questioned his own guilt, even when he was originally accused. Not only has he adapted to life in prison but he's become a different person there and has a significant ministry to fellow inmates.

But Joe's family remains unconvinced of his guilt, and they hire Ryan and Tom to file a motion to obtain Joe's release. The resulting investigation uncovers layers of dark secrets in the local community. It will result either in Joe's vindication--or expand the number of people who should join him behind bars.


My Rating & Thoughts:    


3.5 rounded up to 4. 

Ryan is a young lawyer hired by Joe's niece to look at getting Joe released from prison. Joe has been in jail for 26 years for a double murder and found God in jail and now ministers to fellow inmates. It is unclear whether or not Joe actually committed the murder. Story follows Joe's time in prison and Ryan's personal life with his wife Paige. Ryan and Paige have recently moved to town and with Paige working from home she doesn't know many people. We see Paige begin to make friends and discover faith in God. I really enjoyed getting to know Paige and following her journey, I did not particularly care for all the jail scenes and just want to spend time with Paige and Ryan. I loved the way the two of them interacted and cared for one another. I found the jail scenes to be a bit repetitive and mundane after a while. I especially loved the friendship that developed between Paige and the women she meets. There is a strong faith message in the book. 

(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.)

No comments:

Post a Comment