Fatal Convications Book Review

Fatal Convictions is a melding of spirituality, law and thriller that leaves the reader wanted to continue to turn the page of the book without putting it down. In this story by Singer, he mixes his can’t miss drama with the difficult topic of Muslim culture in American. In his story a Muslim converts to Christianity and soon suffers an honor killing in America. A imam of the a local mosque coming under fire as the evidence mounts up suggesting that he is the one who ordered the honor killing. To make things even worse, the woman’s husband and Imam’s best friend both have past ties to Hezbollah.

In this story the main character Alex Madison who is part time pastor and full time lawyer agrees to defend the imam. He does it though no for the reason of helping to protect someone, but because he thinks it will open the door to a personal injury case that he thinks will give him a large settlement. Even will ulterior motives, the more Madison gets into the case; the more he starts to belief that the imam is truly innocent and soon finds himself dealing with feelings for the imam’s daughter. With the intersection of faith, law, love, Muslim and American relations, Singer finds a way to keep you hanging on to the edge of your seat until you are completely surprised with the how the case ends.

What I like about this book is the way that Singer dances between difficult topics in American society with grace and honor. He paints the portrait of what it means to be a Christian from the stand point of love and grace, but does so while still showing the hones t human side of people, especially a pastor a person who we often forget is a human too. He does a great job of showcasing the struggles that we have when dealing with difficult topics but reminds us of the need to be accepting, loving and grace filled people.

The book is a little long and the plots and characters evolved quite a bit. It almost dictates reading it in a short amount of time as if you put the book down even a little bit, you might find yourself confused with where you left off.

However if you are a fan of thrillers like Grisham and Patterson then I think you will find this an entertaining book which intersects thriller with spiritual matters.

I was provided this book free by Tyndale House Publishing. I was not required to post a positive or negative comment and the thoughts expressed here are my own opinion of the book.

Book Review: The Final Summit by Andy Andrews

I think that this book came with glue on the outside of the dust jacket. Once I picked it up and started to read it, I could put it down. This book continues with the exploits of David Ponder. He has brought to the “Final Summit” by the angel Gabriel. He is one of many people who are picked to help mankind on the quest for the answer to the question “What does humanity need to do, individually and collectively, to restore itself to the pathway toward successful civilization?” David is then put to task to understand this along with the likes of great historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Joan of Arc and even King David.

I liked the book from the perspective of bringing in historical characters that have had an influence of people throughout time to help David with his task. For some it might be difficult to follow the path of the character of David Ponder without having read the previous book The Traveler’s Gift, but to some degree it stands on its own.

I really appreciate the reader’s guide at the end. I think that if one is serious about engaging the book that they should read it then re-read it with a group or oneself and use the reading guide to go along with it.

Another thing I appreciate is that while it is Christian, it is not overtly Christian. Sure the setting is in Heaven, but there is not a bunch of Biblical quotes or theology that is spread throughout the book. I think that this is important since it might allow for non-believers to engage through this book and open doors for possible discussion down the road.

The book is rather history to help give perspective on the characters in the book and some people may not like that, but I appreciate it, especially for those who are not completely familiar with the rich histories of each character.

Some people may also be disappointed with the answer to the question, I will not express it here, but I can say that after reading it, that it provides a valuable insight for all of us. While it may seem overly simplified, it is still something that we have to take into consideration in all that we do, if we do not consider what Andrews says to us in this book, and then we are doomed to live in our own self-fulfilling prophecies.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Book Review Blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”