False Witness by Randy Singer

Book Description

“The government can give you a new identity, but only Christ can change your life."

Clark Shealy is a bail bondsman with the ultimate bounty on the line: his wife's life. He has forty-eight hours to find an Indian professor in possession of the Abacus Algorithm—an equation so powerful it could crack all Internet encryption.

Four years later, law student Jamie Brock is working in legal aid when a routine case takes a vicious twist: she and two colleagues learn that their clients, members of the witness protection program, are accused of defrauding the government and have the encrypted algorithm in their possession. After a life-changing trip to the professor's church in India, the couple also has the key to decode it.

Now they're on the run from federal agents and the Chinese mafia, who will do anything to get the algorithm. Caught in the middle, Jamie and her friends must protect their clients if they want to survive long enough to graduate.

An adrenaline-laced thrill ride, this retelling of one of Randy Singer's most critically acclaimed novels takes readers from the streets of Las Vegas to the halls of the American justice system and the inner sanctum of the growing church in India with all the trademark twists, turns, and the legal intrigue his fans have come to expect.

About the Author 

Randy Singer is a critically acclaimed author and veteran trial attorney. He has penned 10 legal thrillers, including his award-winning debut novel, Directed Verdict. Randy runs his own law practice and has been named to Virginia Business magazine's select list of "Legal Elite" litigation attorneys. In addition to his law practice and writing, Randy serves as teaching pastor for Trinity Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He calls it his "Jekyll and Hyde thing"—part lawyer, part pastor. He also teaches classes in advocacy and civil litigation at Regent Law School and, through his church, is involved with ministry opportunities in India. He and his wife, Rhonda, live in Virginia Beach. They have two grown children. Visit his website at http://www.randysinger.net/.

My Review

This excellent novel (really, a revision of an older book by the author) provided a suspenseful, engaging, complex tale that kept the reader glued from beginning to the end and didn't fudge on spiritual content. Frankly, this project is extraordinary. Seemingly dissimilar story lines make the reader wonder how these fascinating stories are going to come together. The Chinese mafia. The US witnesses protection program. The church in India. An algorithm so powerful it can crack any Internet encryption. These threads come together in a Grisham-esque legal thriller (minus the language) with plenty of heart-stopping twists and turns and just enough romance to appeal to many female readers. Only one use of a crude word (common in some Christian fiction) and some violence detract from the overall appeal for the most traditional readers. Strong on plot and characters, strong on message, this hard-to-put-down novel will keep you up late at night, wondering how the story is going to conclude. While much newer Christian fiction seems to be getting weaker on message, this one actually gets stronger. Highly recommended.

Fatal Witness is available from Tyndale House Publishing.

Thanks to Tyndale and B & B Media for the review copy.