From Publishers Weekly
There is plenty of room in evangelical Christian fiction for fresh voices, and debut novelist Singer is a promising one. The story opens with some fairly graphic violence as Sarah and Charles Reed, missionaries to Saudi Arabia, are tortured for their Christian faith and framed for cocaine use. Charles dies, and after returning to the U.S., Sarah's life insurance company refuses to compensate her for his death, citing his "addiction." Desperate for the means to raise her two children, she hires attorney Brad Carson, who seizes the opportunity to sue the nation of Saudi Arabia for their persecution of the Reeds. The resulting lawsuit ends up in the courtroom of the Hon. Cynthia Baker-Kline, a prochoice judge who had an earlier run-in with Carson over a prolife protester he represented. Despite opening the novel with a few stereotypes, Singer eventually smashes others, as in his depiction of Carson's legal secretary (who, with her overweight physique, pack-a-day cigarette habit and constant scowl is no Della Street). There's the requisite witnessing, but some suspense as to who does and doesn't convert to Christianity. The pacing would have been improved by some judicious pruning and tightening, but the story is compelling, and the reader is left guessing until the last chapter about the identity of a potential double-crossing informant. Legal thrillers are gaining ground in the evangelical Christian market, and this is an agreeable addition to the genre.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
In Saudi Arabia, two American missionaries are targeted by the infamousreligious policeMuttawa. The man is tortured and killed; his wife arrestedon trumped-up charges before being deported to the United States. Compelledby the injustice of her plight, young attorney Brad Carlson files anunprecedented civil rights suit against Saudi Arabia and the ruthless head ofthe Muttawa. But the suit unleashes powerful forces that will stop at nothingto vindicate the Arabian kingdom. Witnesses are intimidated and some disappear;jurors are bribed; and a member of Brads own team may be attemptingto sabotage the case. As Brad navigates a maze of treachery and deception,he must gamble his case, his career, and the lives of those he loves on hisability to bring justice to one family, challenge the religious intolerance of anation, and alter the course of international law. Directed Verdict is a Christy Awardwinning novel.