During a terrorist attack near the Western Wall in Jerusalem, a courageous mother sacrifices her life to save her four-year-old daughter, leaving behind a grieving husband and a motherless child. Hana Abboud, a Christian Arab Israeli lawyer trained at Hebrew University, typically uses her language skills to represent international clients for an Atlanta law firm. When her boss is contacted by Jakob Brodsky, a young Jewish lawyer pursuing a lawsuit on behalf of the woman’s family under the US Anti-Terrorism laws, he calls on Hana’s expertise to take point on the case. After careful prayer, she joins forces with Jakob, and they quickly realize the need to bring in a third member for their team, an Arab investigator named Daud Hasan, based in Israel. To unravel the case, this team of investigators travels from the streets of Atlanta to the alleys of Jerusalem, a world where hidden motives thrive, the risk of death is real, and the search for truth has many faces. What they uncover will forever change their understanding of justice, heritage, and what it means to be chosen for a greater purpose.
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During a terrorist attack near the Western Wall area of Jerusalem, Gloria Neumann sacrifices herself to save her four year old daughter. Though the daughter survives, she is left disfigured and requiring psychological therapy in the aftermath.
Later, in Atlanta, Georgia, lawyer Hana Abboud is contacted with an offer to possibly represent the family of Gloria Neumann. Under the US Anti-Terrorist laws, Gloria's husband would like to pursue a lawsuit. Hana teams up with Jewish lawyer Jakob Brodsky and Arab investigator Daud Hasan to find justice for the family. Though adult Hana identifies as Christian, she has a personal connection to this case because she had a Middle Eastern upbringing and studied law at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
If you're familiar with Robert Whitlow's novels, you likely know he's pretty much the John Grisham of the Christian Fiction genre. No surprise then when I tell you that there is a heaping helping of legalese in this story. The plot gets an extra layer of complexity as well with Whitlow incorporating discussion of international laws.
Personally, I struggle with Whitlow's writing style. His writing reads a little dry for my taste, so I often have a hard time connecting with characters. This books was no exception, though I will say that Sadie, the little girl, was a very cute character to get to know. The adults though.... a little stale. While the topic was a decent one to write a novel around, I felt the scenarios the characters were put in were often a little too contrived, their reactions to their environments or experiences even a little silly at times.
FTC Disclaimer: TNZ Fiction Guild kindly provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are entirely my own.
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