Confession is good for the soul, but it could mean death to an ambitious young lawyer.
Assistant DA Holt Douglas has made a career of getting confessions from criminals. With a confession in hand, he knows a guilty plea is soon to follow.
In the midst of professional success, Holt is haunted by a secret—a lie he buried in the grave of his best friend. Holt’s crime is hidden from all eyes—family, friends, police, and his soon-to-be fiancé.
But the truth has a way of coming back to life.
With obsessive prosecutorial zeal, Holt reopens a cold case involving the death of the town’s wealthiest citizen. The man’s death was ruled a suicide, but Holt suspects murder. Facing fierce opposition, he is determined to expose the killer. Holt slowly begins to unravel the facts.
And comes face-to-face with his own guilty conscience.
With his job, his relationship with the woman he loves, and his future at risk, Holt skirts the boundary between truth and lies, confession and hypocrisy, redemption and ruin. Can he survive long enough to finally make the right choice?
Robert Whitlow is the best-selling author of legal novels set in the South and winner of the prestigious Christy Award for Contemporary Fiction. A Furman University graduate, Whitlow 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. A practicing attorney, Whitlow and his wife, Kathy, have four children. They make their home in North Carolina.
My Impressions:
Robert Whitlow is back! No he didn’t really go anywhere, but this book club favorite left us puzzled and dissatisfied last year with The Living Room (read my review HERE). But his newest novel, The Confession, combines his trademark characters, excellent plotting and insightful faith message that make for a classic Whitlow novel. By The Book is discussing this one next week. Have you read it? Please let us know your thoughts.
Holt Douglas is a DA with a past. From the beginning, the reader is let in on the secret which has shaped his life’s goals. The accident changed the course of his life and has caused him not to divert from it. Deputy Trish Carmichael has also been impacted by a tragedy. Her black and white sense of right and wrong were reinforced by it. The two come together to solve a cold case that is not as it seems. Past and present are on a collision course that will again change the paths of many of the characters.
First off, I have to say that I liked the mystery that was the main plot line. Things are never as they seem and the main characters’ perceptions and experiences influence the direction of their investigation. Whitlow examines how what we see may not really be what’s real. But it was the course the characters take in gaining real insight that I enjoyed the most. Holt is a case in contradiction and irony, dedicated to bring justice, but keeping his own sins secrets. Trish believes in the justice of God, but has a hard time extending grace. The Confession has lots of characters seeking restitution, but not true repentance. The surprise ending is filled with the message of hope in the love and mercy of God.
I am so glad that Whitlow has returned to his roots. This is a book I can recommend.
Recommended.
Audience: Older teens to adults.
(I purchased a copy of this book. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
To purchase this book, click on the image below.
Recent Comments