Into the Fire

Hmm. Before I head into Deeper Water, I want to say that I’m a fan of Robert Whitlow’s southern legal mysteries. Yes, another attorney who writes fiction that I enjoy. I believe I’ve read all of his novels except Jimmy. So that list includes The Sacrifice, The Trial*, The List*, Life Everlasting* and its sequel Life Support, Mountain Top, and now what I assume is the first novel in a new “Tides of Truth” series, Deeper Water, published by Thomas Nelson. (My favorites are marked with the *.)

I was a bit surprised by the cover and paper quality of this book. While I liked the simple design of the front cover, forgive me when I say that both the cover and the paper used are cheap and flimsy for a book that retails for $14.99 in store. The page count might seem high at 385, but the trim size of the novel is approximately 8 1/2 x 5 3/8 with a fairly open template. Not a large size for a book.

The heroine of this story is second year law student at the University of Georgia, Tammy Taylor, whose biggest sin seems to be fudging on her summer clerking application to law firm Braddock, Appleby, and Carpenter by spelling her name “Tami”. I’m no expert on the ultra conservative denominations of Christianity, but this young woman is clearly from one of them, possibly Mennonite. Really I don’t know. She’s tall and plays basketball with a mutated uniform to cover more of her arms and legs. She’s intelligent and sensitive and sometimes plucky, but “street smart” to her would be interpreted to mean “Cross with the light.”

Tami’s worldview is a myopic picture of a threatening culture dominated by selfish desires and sinful people. Her simplistic ways present challenges and expose her suspicious, legalistic, and judgmental tendencies. Okay, I had a hard time with this character. Not faulting her for wanting to honor her faith in a way that seems appropriate for her and her family, I do fault her for sometimes assuming the worst of people. She has taken being “in the world, not of the world” to the farthest stratum Granted, she is a young character who has clearly gravitated way outside of her comfort zone, but I think the story fails to gel her desiring to become an attorney with her overall perception of life. Sometimes when she stands strong in her convictions it feels motivated more by self-righteousness than a humble heart, and her naiveté in certain instances comes off as more annoying than charming.

And if you think my stories take awhile to get into the meat, this novel doesn’t veer away from familiarizing us with the heroine and a few other characters from a first person POV until around page 106 when slowly the different facets of the story begin to connect. It wraps up a little too pat with a minor cliffhanger which only serves as a reminder of how some publishers like to conduct their series’ novels. Personally, I don’t care for it. There are ways to make a series flow but still complete a story within each novel.

If I’ve given you the impression I didn’t like this book, I would rather say the primary characters are immature—their ages being in the mid-twenties—and the heroine less than interesting enough to carry the story satisfactorily. There will be an audience for this novel, but it won’t be the same type of audience who read my novels. The prairie romance crowd who enjoys a little mystery should favor this book.

Father, please continue to give Robert Whitlow the stories you have for him to tell. Use all of his skills and talents in the process and bless his efforts to demonstrate his love for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.