I like the mystery in this book! Took me a minute to figure it out... I really like the 2 main characters as well. Typical Robert Whitlow dialogue, but the plot is a bit different.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance e-copy of this book. All opinions are entirely my own.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Double Indemnity by Robert Whitlow debuts June 6, 2023, as his 22nd novel. Whitlow won the 2001 Christie Award for Contemporary Fiction. Four of his books have been made into movies. He is a practicing attorney in North Carolina.

Thirty-year-old Connor Grantham pastors a small church in Bryson, Georgia. A deeply thoughtful and philosophical man, he prefers hiking and reading to socializing. Being single in a small-town also leads to inevitable matchmaking efforts from friends, rumors, and speculation.

Attorney Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Acosta is the newest hire at Pollard and Associates. For her first year, she has mostly served as a Spanish interpreter for her boss, Howard Pollard.

The story unfolds in alternating viewpoints of Attorney Liz Acosta and Pastor Connor Grantham.
Liz’s landlord invites her to a church social where she meets Pastor Connor Grantham. Their common friends encourage them to meet in not-so-subtle maneuvers as friends do when they play matchmaker.

The real driving force that brings them together is the unhappy marriage of Matt and Elena Thompson. Elena hires Liz to look into her financial situation in case Matt asks for a divorce. Poor Connor is dragged into the thick of the Thompsons’ unhappiness when they seek marital counseling. Matt spends time in Atlanta to keep his tech business running, but his business partner wants to sell.

The pacing of the story accelerates after Matt goes to a company deer hunt at the Burnt Pine Tree Hunting Lodge. Matt dies of a gunshot wound alone in the woods. Was it an accident? The list of suspects grows as Liz and Connor are drawn deeper into their separate counseling duties for the widow. Both the widow and the business partner benefit from the double-indemnity clause of life insurance policies on Matt. Toss in Matt’s ex-wife Anne and their two daughters, who live in Atlanta, and the investigation flows in many directions.

The dialogue is lean and believable for the characters. Whitlow’s descriptions of Connor’s hikes in the woods resonate as those of an experienced outdoorsman, part awe, part joy. The characters suit a small-town setting where secrets emerge through the grapevine of people familiar with one another. The surprises and plot twists keep the reader guessing until the end.

Readers of John Grisham and Sheldon Siegel will enjoy this legal drama.

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This is a new author for me. The story is a well written murder mystery. There is a lot of legalize description about double indemnity. There are many major characters well described throughout the book.
A smaller town, hunting accident, the widow, a pastor, and law firm must navigate to find the truth.
I do admit I guessed one person of interest before the end.

Another great legal drama by Robert Whitlow! I was so excited to begin reading this and was not disappointed. Well written characters whose personalities fit with the responses they have to events they encounter. Conversations that flow and make you feel like you are listening to real people talking through an intriguing situation. The story itself is also really good! I liked walking alongside the characters as they followed the clues trying to figure out if someone's death was an accident or murder! I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for anyone who likes this author, books about lawyers, and murder mysteries.

Double Idemnity us an excellent read. You think you've solved the mystery, but then a twist happens that makes you wonder of you're right and then it happens all over again. The book is a little longer than I expected but overall was intriguing. I also enjoyed how it showed the glory of God and the power of prayer in the midst of a mystery/thriller. It's not often that you encounter them together in a book.

When your world falls apart, you need an anchor. This sentence describes the book of Robert Whitlow in a John Grisham like setting, only with more focus on the environment of the main character Connor. He is a minister in a church in a small town and his knowledge driven faith is tested as God is at work and the fallen nature of man gets a grip on the town.

A well written novel which turned for me into a page turner to get to know what is next thing to happen. From a christian point of view it gives a realistic view of Gods ways in multiple lives at the same time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the upfront copy of this book.

When a young pastor unwittingly takes a photo of a crime scene and then is charged as a suspect, a young lawyer tries to untangle the situation! Connor is a handsome new pastor in his thirties, he gives a struggling married man a podcast by mistake that saves his soul and that man loses his life shortly afterwards.
Liz is a young lawyer in the area who tries to help the widow settle her estate, but there is an ex wife to contend with and her husbands death is suspicious!
You will have to read the story for yourself to see what happens!
"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

This is an intriguing story that captured my full attention right from the beginning. I could barely put it down, resulting in reading mostly straight through.

New attorney, Liz Acosta moved to Georgia, from her home state of Florida. She had no job offers in Florida and felt she got the position at the largest firm in the small town of Bryson, because of her ability to speak and understand Spanish. She often feels more like a translator than a lawyer, although she is pleased that she is assigned a new client, Elena Thompson. Elena is seeking legal advice in the event her rocky marriage ends in divorce and has proven to be somewhat difficult. Her husband, Matthew is a successful businessman with a large bank account.

Connor Grantham is the pastor of a local church in town. He is single and loves the nearby hiking trails and is out nearly every morning taking advantage of them. He has started marriage counseling with a new couple, Matt and Elena Thompson who have some challenging marital issues.

Liz has never been a regular churchgoer; however, her landlord invites Liz to come to her church on a day when there will be a potluck after the service. Liz enjoys church and even sees her new client, Elena. Liz continues to attend, and she and Connor become friends. They enjoy some hikes together, and although they each have a separate relationship with Elena, both are exposed to her never-ending antics and often unreasonable demands.

This is an intriguing, fast-paced story of friendships and faith. There are many twists and turns and unexpected surprises. The characters are truly amazing, and I felt as though I was going through their challenges right along with them.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I am not used to the writing style of this new-to-me author. To me, the dialogue and sentences were rather stiff and abrupt at times. However, I found myself rather engrossed in the story at times, especially towards the end.

Good story, good setting. Totally unexpected culprit for the murder. Just that the writing style is not for me.

I have really enjoyed Robert Whitlow’s work, and this book was no exception. It had a great story line and kept me guessing. However, a few of the conversations were hard to keep track of who was saying what. I also would have enjoyed some more build up in the romance department. Overall, I highly recommend - Robert Whitlow is becoming one of my favorite authors.

Double Indemnity by Robert Whitlow is a great, enjoyable book that entails, mystery, murder, and suspense, The author weaves the story through the characters as you get to know them the good and the weak parts of their lives.

Connor Grantham is a young, intelligent pastor of church in an area that appealed to his love of mountain hiking. He starts off unsure of just how to pastor a church and lacking in his prayer life. He grows in both through guidance from God and interacting with Christians strong in their faith. Liz Acosta is a successful lawyer learning also under her mentor and boss how to properly deal her legal clients.

Connor and Liz too start a growing relationship as they both deal with a very unstable church member, Elena and the murder of her husband, Matt. Conner had counseling them in their marriage and Elena has hired Liz as her lawyer.

As Connor and Liz both work to help and find out who the murderer is, Connor is steadily being looked at by the law enforcements as a suspect. You see his faith grow as he realizes how God is directing his life.

Good read and I recommend the book.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and the opinion and review is my own.

A superb book! A real treat for legal novel lovers. There are enough loose ends, possibilities and unknowns to keep you guessing about the true identity of the perpetrator until the very end. Mr. Whitlow does an outstanding job portraying some incredibly true to life characters who show strengths, weaknesses and growth over time. There is a spiritual part to this book that might leave some readers feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Having had these experiences myself, I can relate and testify that this can truly happen. As always, the author does a lot of showing instead of telling and is able to combine different bits of information into a wonderful sentence such as, “...a soft voice that revealed roots in rural Mexico”. Language like that is such a pleasure to read. I enjoyed “going on hikes” with the main characters and was truly sorry to have to say goodbye. I’d highly recommend reading this story where good wins out over evil.

Thank you Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Right away, a man dies—either in a hunting accident or murder. A person in the area happens to film another person rushing away. That person is a hiking and trekking pastor, whom you like a lot. Whitlow has written many books and I thought I had read some of them with enjoyment. He does well bringing characters to life and describing the politics of church life and the underbelly of faith. The pastor struggles to give sermons from the heart instead of just from the head and learns more deeply about prayer along the way from some of his congregants.

While enjoyable, the storyline was predictable with the author creating sympathetic characters and ones who create dissonance among the others. After the flurry in the Prologue, nothing much really happens for two-thirds of the book and then it careens rapidly down a hill without brakes to a conclusion where all live happily ever after. However, there are some details that are not adequately explained in the skidding stop at the end: a flurry of phone calls on the morning of the death that would have implicated many others. The dead man’s company is struggling but had been publicized a lot and so it’s strange that only two months before his death, the company takes out key-man life insurance policies. They would have taken it out as soon as there were significant sales and contracts that relied on the efforts of the two founders. And the author never explains a discrepancy in the beneficiary of that policy. If the company was well-regarded and well-known, it would have sales and expenses in the nine-figure range. It wouldn’t have survived with a mere eight-figure insurance payout. The company would have needed a bigger payout to transition into a new phases of its business plan without one or both of its founders.

If you’re a Whitlow fan, you’ll enjoy the book. If you want to read something with a lot more intrigue, try something else.

The author has once again written a story that defies conventional classification. It blends mystery, murder, romance, and legal issues with a strong spiritual foundation to create a very enjoyable novel.

This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher and the author. Characters who come alive on the pages…intrigue and mystery…friendship and family…this talented author has written a story that is difficult to put down. When a husband dies, secrets are discovered. This story does come to a resounding ending…

This wasn't my favorite of Robert Whitlows books. I found some parts of it to be hard to believe. Like Conner, a Pastor would be interested in a woman whom he didn't know was saved or not. I really found it lmplausible that Liz would bumble around so much and tell Elena every little detail. Even if she didn't suspect her for a lawyer even a young woman she seemed to have very loose lips.

I really enjoyed Double Indemnity! Connor, a local preacher in a small town, loves long hikes. One day, on his walk through the corner of a game preserve, he sees a massive buck, and takes a video. Suddenly, a man carrying a rifle stumbles into view, then races off. Connor thinks nothing of it until he discovers that Matt, one of the church members he’s been counseling, has died in a shooting accident. Matt’s wife, Elena, hires Liz, a young, new lawyer to the area, to help her recover the insurance money.

Soon, it’s suspected that Matt was murdered. Why would someone do this? Who could have done it? What secrets are about to being uncovered?

I loved reading this Christian mystery! The characters are very well-developed, the storyline has depth and keeps you guessing, and an added bonus is that I’m encouraged to grow my prayer life due to Sarah’s influence! I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read the latest by Robert Whitlow. I have read several of his legal stories and have enjoyed them all, including this one. This has more religion in the story than some, but that is perfectly fine with me. The story centers around a murder that occurs and how it plays out. The twists were a little predictable, but still made for a good story.

DOUBLE INDEMNITY is another brilliant legal drama by ROBERT WHITLOW, with a plot that will keep you guessing, some interesting characters and a Christian message that will really touch your heart. The story takes place in Bryson, a town in the foorhills of the Appalachian Mountains, which gives rise to some lovely descriptions.
When businessman, Matt Thompson, dies in a hunting accident at the hunt organized by his firm at the Burnt Pine Tree Lodge, both Connor Grantham and Liz Acosta become involved with his feisty second wife, Elena, Connor as the pastor who has been giving the couple marriage counselling, and Liz as her lawyer. Elena does not trust anyone, particularly Matt’s first wife Anne, who has custody of his children, and his business partner Winston Boone. She seems more interested in the money that is due to her from his life insurance than is normal for a grieving widow……
I am not going to tell you any more for fear of spoiling the read for you.
I cannot recommend this beautifully written, exciting and inspirational novel highly enough.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Thomas Nelson. The opinions in this review are completely my own.