A robbery. A shot. Thunder and lightning. There in the middle of the street in the heat of the dark an officer is face to face with a suspect. This is where the story begins, but it is far from where it ends.
Here in my area, being close to St. Louis, the protests and riots over a criminal being shot by an officer, this novel brings a fresh and honest portrayal of justice at work when the truth is first on being sought out.
The character, Adisa, stands out for me. I really admired her strengths and weaknesses. She walked with a great integrity and through circumstances in her life she is faced with coming true to who she is and what she believes.
This is hometown South. A white officer is accused of shooting a black man. Adisa, a black attorney, feels one way about this case, but when she takes this case it is amazing to see truth prevail through her actions along with others to seek truth justice, not street justice.
Through this novel we see the lives of the officer, the attorney, and the young man who was shot come to life before our eyes. Whitlow has long been a favorite for me. Choosing another novel penned by his talent was a no brainer, but I was really surprised at the content of this novel. I wasn't sure in what direction he would take these pages. He shows us that what's on the surface isn't always the truth and when we dig down deep we find that love, respect, and honor can come to life when we look beyond our self. Especially when we look beyond what generations have taught, what the media places in our face on the nightly news. This novel shows that hate gets us no where, racism is on all sides, and too often we don't want the truth, we just want to be angry.
The more I read the more I wanted to spend time in these words. That's a clue I have a great read in my hands. I cannot wait to see what's next for Whitlow.
This novel was a gift from Thomas Nelson for sharing my review with you.
Robert Whitlow is the bestselling author of legal novels set in the South and winner of the Christy Award for Contemporary Fiction. He received his J.D. with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law where he served on the staff of the Georgia Law Review. RobertWhitlow.com
