• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Purposeful Learning

Purposefully living for Jesus, one day at a time.

  • Blog Home
  • Books
    • Book Lists
  • Families
    • Relationships
    • Siblings
  • Life
    • Christian Living
    • Thinking
    • Midweek Mix-Up
  • Tools
    • Homeschooling Tools
    • Productivity
    • Recipes
    • Writing Tools
  • Writing
    • Teaching Writing

Chosen People: A Review of Robert Whitlow’s Latest Book

April 3, 2019 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

For years, I’ve enjoyed reading mystery stories of all kinds—starting out with Encyclopedia Brown (which, unfortunately, I was never able to solve without reading the answer at the back!), and slowly advancing up to more adult mysteries with Chautona Havig and Alana Terry’s books. Enter Chosen People by Robert Whitlow. I hadn’t heard of the author before, but this mystery was well worth a read!

Chosen People: A Review

Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book for free from BookLook Bloggers. Thank you, BookLook! All opinions expressed below are entirely my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. Also, some links on this page may be affiliate links. Your purchase through these links helps to keep this blog going; thank you!

About the Book:

Bestselling author Robert Whitlow returns with an international legal drama that speaks to critical issues of our day.

“Whitlow’s timely story shines a spotlight on prejudice, race, and the pursuit of justice in a world bent on blind revenge. Fans of Greg Iles’s Natchez Burning will find this just as compelling if not more so.” —Library Journal, starred review of A Time to Stand

You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation . . .

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 multi-language skills to represent international clients for an Atlanta law firm. When her boss is contacted by Jakob Brodsky, a young Jewish lawyer aggressively pursuing a lawsuit on behalf of the 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 goes 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 will uncover will forever change their understanding of justice, heritage, and what it means to be chosen for a greater purpose.

My Thoughts:

Chosen People by Robert WhitlowHave you ever found that you have to see something about a book several times before you take a good look at it? Or maybe it’s just me. Chosen People came up in one or two of the book review sites I use, but I didn’t pay a lot of attention to it until I saw it on BookLook Bloggers, as well. When I took a closer look at it—after the clean, but nice cover caught my eye—I thought it might be an interesting read. Even though it didn’t match my normal reading genres, I was interested in finding out whether I liked legal fiction or not!

And what a story! If one would expect a thriller when picking this book up, they might be disappointed. In my opinion, it was more the level of a very well developed mystery.* I was kept guessing until the very end about one character in particular—cringing when the main character was with them, trusting them, and yet wildly hoping they would turn out good in the end!

There were quite a few different elements of this story that were among my favorites. One of them was the setting in Israel; I didn’t count, but probably at least half the story is based in Israel. As a Christian, I am deeply interested in where Israel is at this point, and although we often hear conflicting news from that direction, I still believe that country has a special place in the grand scheme of things somehow. “Seeing” the country, and especially the city of Jerusalem, with both the historical context and where they are today through the lens of a novel, was fascinating. I’d love to read more books with a similar setting.

I also greatly appreciated the faith element in this story. It was quite different from what I’d call modern “American” Christianity in some respects, and I had to wonder what other influences the author had here. The focus on trusting in and relying on Jesus was a blessing, and the emphasis on a personal prayer life was also encouraging.

I can’t say I came across a lot I didn’t appreciate in this story. Yes, there was the terrorism element, which is what the main mystery centered around. It’s not nice to read about people being evil, no matter what their reasons are. I also don’t really like the fact that it sometimes (or often?) took lying by the investigators to figure out what they needed to—and it especially bugs me when Christians do that. I understand why, I just don’t think it really lines up with what the Bible teaches.

In all, as a portrait of Christians in the modern legal system, as a mystery set in modern Israel, and a Christian fiction with a slight side of romance (which wasn’t as big as I feared, and ended up being a welcome change from my normal reading fare in itself!), Chosen People was a good read.

I’m giving it four out of five stars, because while I really enjoyed it, it didn’t quite hit the “aah! that was amazing!” level for me. 🙂

*I do want to insert the disclaimer that under normal reading circumstances for me, this book would have been more gripping—it just so happens that when I read it, I wasn’t in a very good reading “mood”. If I had read it at a different time, it probably would have felt more like the thriller it’s supposed to be.

What was the last mystery you read? What is your opinion of “legal thrillers”?

You might also be interested in . . .

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Book Reviews, New Books

About Esther Filbrun

I am a young woman in New Zealand. I enjoy writing, cooking, sewing, reading, editing, and, most of all, praising my heavenly Father.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Esther’s picture

Hi! I’m Esther, lover of the Lord Jesus Christ and brainstormer behind helping families find good books (read more about that here). My goal is to live a purposeful, fulfilling life—whether that is in what I read, write, cook, design, or do with my wonderful siblings. My life is full and often messy. But God is good. Welcome to the adventure!

Find Me Online

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Google

Recent Posts

  • Painted Memories: Book Review, Blog Tour, and Giveaway!
  • Family Trip #03: Aviation Museum and Mackenzie Country
  • Second Day of Our Family Trip
  • First Day of Our Family Trip
  • Tuis! …and a Bellbird

Recent Comments

  • Esther Filbrun on Painted Memories: Book Review, Blog Tour, and Giveaway!
  • Caryl Kane on Painted Memories: Book Review, Blog Tour, and Giveaway!
  • Esther Filbrun on Painted Memories: Book Review, Blog Tour, and Giveaway!
  • Anita Heath on Painted Memories: Book Review, Blog Tour, and Giveaway!
  • Rita Wray on Painted Memories: Book Review, Blog Tour, and Giveaway!

Archives

2020 Reading Challenge

2020 Reading Challenge
Esther has read 0 books toward her goal of 50 books.
hide
0 of 50 (0%)
view books

Subscribe

Join 36 others and stay updated by subscribing to the blog!

Your data is protected. I hate spam as much as you!

Copyright © 2021 · Twenty Seven Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in