BOOK MARK™
A presentation of latest Christian books to hit the stores.
Title: Guilty Until Innocent
Genre: Christian – Contemporary / Legal / Christian – Suspense
Author: Robert Whitlow
Publishing Date: February 2, 2025
Availability in London: Creation Bookstore.
Reviews courtesy of Goodreads
Summary:
Justice has been served . . . unless the accused is innocent. In this gripping legal drama, Whitlow expertly weaves themes of grace, faith, and the law with a plot that is sure to keep you guessing until the end.
Life in prison is often a nightmare, but Joe Moore believes he is just where God intends him to be. Twenty-five years ago, while high on meth, he makes one terrible mistake after another, culminating in the brutal murder of a young, influential couple. Today, Joe is a radically different person, thriving in his role as a ministry leader and role model to his fellow inmates.
After being fired from two previous law firms, young lawyer Ryan Clark and his wife, Paige, have settled into a small North Carolina town. Hired by a distant relative, Ryan is committed to connecting with the right clients and handling the mundane tasks while his cousin Tom takes on the high-profile cases.
But when critical health issues land Tom in the hospital, Ryan is forced to take the helm at the law firm–just in time for the town’s biggest case in history to be reopened. Joe Moore’s niece has been doing some digging and, convinced that her incarcerated uncle is innocent, insists that Ryan relaunch the investigation immediately.
After Ryan meets with Joe, both men receive threats that put their own lives–as well as the lives of those around them–in danger. It appears that together they’ve pulled back a dark curtain that hides a deeper evil than anyone in town suspects exists. Now they must determine if continuing with the case is worth the risk–and if the cost of proving one man’s innocence is too great when the lives of so many others would be placed in mortal danger.
Dive into a world where faith meets the law in this heart-pounding legal drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Pick up Guilty Until Innocent and find out if the cost of justice is worth risking everything. You won’t want miss out on this thrilling story of grace, redemption, and the relentless pursuit of truth.
READER REVIEWS Courtesy : goodreads
Linda Galella rated “Guilty Until Innocent” a 4 out of 5 STARS.
GUILTY UNTIL INNOCENT has more set up and extras than necessary to support the story, unless it’s the start of a new series, for author, Robert Whitlow.
MC, Joe, has been incarcerated for 25+ years. It doesn’t take long to figure out he’s not guilty. The lawyer who represented him all those years ago had an heart attack and the investigation into getting him released is being handled by the young lawyer recently hired. Joe’s sister prompted the inquiry as the family is now solvent.
Joe isn’t sure he wants out. He has a decent life, serving God in prison, taking care of the Gardening program and being a mentor to many men while earning the respect of the warden and guards. Life, such as his dual lifetime for murder sentences are concerned, isn’t too bad. Well, it wasn’t until a lawyer started looking into getting him released and checking out the old records…
Southern Fiction, Legal Fiction, Inspirational Fiction – all three genres are strong. A gospel message is clearly included along with some Bible verses and regular mentions of prayer. This is one author who hasn’t been watered down by a slide into mainstream📚
Dana Michael rated “Guilty Until Innocent” a 5 out of 5 STARS.
Guilty Until Innocent is a legal drama that held me spellbound! I listened to this amazing story of a young lawyer, his wife, and how their lives were eternally impacted by a convicted double murderer. The story is set in a small town in North Carolina, where secrets are kept tight. I kept wondering how this story would unfold. When I was listening, I hated it when I had to turn it off. My mind kept going back to the story and the characters involved. The author did a great job of keeping the mystery going, while also developing the characters into folks I really cared about. If you are a John Grisham or Randy Singer fan, then you’ll love this book! I know I did. Also, the narrator did a good job tackling all the characters. Well done by all!
Paula Shreckhise rated “Guilty Until Innocent” a 4 out of 5 STARS.
A thought-provoking look at life behind bars and an inmate who is concerned about the spiritual welfare of his fellow prison mates.
Joe Moore has been convicted of a double murder, but his grandmother has left funds to find the truth in hopes to set him free. But it has been many years. Part of the story is how young lawyer, Ryan searches out the truth, and its effects on his relationship with his wife and his boss. The other part is how Joe deals with life behind bars, and being a light for Christ.
The plot was interesting, the dialogue was authentic, but the descriptive narrative was kind of wooden. That could be because of the legal perspective of the author.
I so appreciated the Christian aspect of this book. It was clear and showed how a life change happened to some of the main characters.
The unfolding of the crime and true perpetrator was intriguing, although I guessed who the culprit was.
If you like legal drama, give this a try.
Debbie Wentworth Wilson rated “Guilty Until Innocent” a 4 out of 5 STARS.
Joe Moore has been in prison for twenty-five years for a crime he can’t remember committing because he was too high on meth. Since that time, he has become a Christian. Grieved at the thought that he killed a man and woman, Joe has accepted his situation. He and his buddy Ray lead Bible studies and try to disciple the younger prisoners.
Ryan Clark and his wife Paige have settled in a small North Carolina town because Ryan has accepted a job in his cousin Tom’s law firm. Ryan has been fired from two other law firms, so this job means a lot to them, especially when they discover Paige is pregnant. When Tom has a heart attack, Ryan takes over Tom’s clients including Joe Moore’s niece who wants to reopen his case and Tom’s biggest client who was the brother of the woman Joe allegedly murdered. As Ryan starts looking into the murders, someone threatens Joe, Ryan, and Paige. Getting to know the godly man Joe has become leads Ryan and Paige to the Lord and to church. But will it lead them to the morgue too?
Though the book wasn’t too thrilling near the beginning, it was interesting. The characters were strong, and their situations kept me turning pages. As the suspense picked up, it became harder to put the book down. I have read at least two other Whitlow books, and this was by far my favorite.
Christian
Randi Sampson rated “Guilty Until Innocent” a 5 out of 5 STARS.
What an absolutely intriguing story this was! This one took me a little bit in the beginning to get into, but the further into the story I went, the more I found myself unable to walk away from the story.
I’m not typically super into legal dramas/legal thrillers, but this one absolutely won me over because it was so much more than that. Joe Moore was such an intriguing character… a man in prison for over 20 years for a gruesome murder that he believes he committed (having been under the influence of meth at the time and having no recollection of the event), who has turned his life around and is using his time in prison to help other men find Jesus and do the same. He was so humble and truly that type of Christian that so many of us strive to be, despite his circumstances.
I loved seeing that aspect of the story. While this may be a fictional story, it is still a great reminder of the change God can work in real life too. That in and of itself was a beautiful story… but throw in all the twists, turns and threats that make it seems that perhaps Joe isn’t as guilty as he thought. With every twist, I found myself wondering how it was all going to play out. While I don’t want to say too much and give anything away, it most certainly paid off in the end.
If you love legal thrillers and strong messages of faith and redemption, this is an absolute must read for sure!
Howard Davis rated “Guilty Until Innocent” a 1 out of 5 STARS.
Guilty Until Innocent is a mildly interesting story of a charismatic young lawyer in a new firm after having been fired from two previous positions. The plot concerns the filing of a motion for appropriate relief for an inmate imprisoned for 26 years. There are several diversions re a pregnancy, a heart attack and many dull passages about harmonica lessons.
Before very long, the book becomes enmeshed in religion, prayers and Bible study.
This reader found it extremely tedious and felt the book is incorrectly categorized as a mystery/thriller instead of religion and spirituality. If properly categorized I would never have read this book but thank NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC.
Heidi Gorecki rated “Guilty Until Innocent” a 2 out of 5 STARS.
While the book has an overall baseline of Joe’s imprisonment and the investigation of his case, just as much of the book was about the various characters’ salvation or testimonies as they learn about Jesus thru Joe, so less thriller more faith journey. While I sometimes like books with an undertone of faith, this felt a little over-spiritualized for what I anticipated reading.
I will say that I struggled with the constant themes of someone praying and immediately God answered or provided what was asked. While there were a couple instances that this didn’t happen of course, it just felt oversimplified and easy from real life.
More so, I struggled with both the writing and the characters in this. The flow and dialogue felt mechanical and stilted often, mostly because it lacked tone and emotion, even some responses coming across as callous or rude at times, or just unnatural.
Ryan and Paige were extremely naive and had no backbone. They told so many people important information without discrimination, seemed to have no sense of analytical thinking on any given subject, and never considered someone should maybe not be trusted. Then if any bump in the road came up they just folded and backed down.
There was a rather large plot hole at the end that didn’t make much sense but for lack of spoilers, suffice it to say, it was super unrealistic that everyone just accepted it since there would be evidence of it.
All in all, while I liked the theme of dealing with your past and of faith in prison, the book itself was disappointing for me.
Cheri Swalwell rated “Guilty Until Innocent” a 5 out of 5 STARS.
This book was amazing! It grabbed my attention from the very beginning and I couldn’t put it down! Not only was the law information interesting and kept me reading, but the double storylines that intersected (Ryan, the young lawyer and his wife along with Joe and his friends) but I loved the mystery and suspense. Definitely an A+ rating and one I will be talking with to my friends. Needs to be a book club pick because there are SO MANY layers in this book to dissect.
Shanen Rae rated “Guilty Until Innocent” a 5 out of 5 STARS.
Would be such a good movie! I shared this story with my husband as I read it. He isn’t a fan of reading but loves to hear about the good books I am reading. I couldn’t read this one fast enough for him. It was a great book for discussion and so intriguing. I have found another great author through Netgalley. I look forward to enjoying more Robert Whitlow books.
Coralee Hicks rated “Guilty Until Innocent” a 4 out of 5 STARS.
Thirty years as a published writer, along with more than thirty years as a practicing lawyer, has placed Robert Whitlow firmly in the winner’s circle. Like many of his previous legal thrillers, Whitlow sets the novel in the rural South. Contrasting a well-established firm with a family-run practice, and a young lawyer against a more seasoned practitioner, Whitlow also contrasts the life of an attorney with that of a “lifer”—a person serving time for a murder that happened a generation ago. Both central characters, Ryan Clark, the young lawyer, and Joe Moore, the prisoner, are men with a mission.
Whitlow focuses on Joe Moore, opening the book with the trial where the verdict was guilty on both counts. Twenty-five years later, Moore has transformed from a soul lost in drug addiction to a man committed to living a faith-based life. He leads Bible study groups in his cell block and offers, when asked, advice to anyone who might be in spiritual or emotional distress. Clark, on the other hand, is at a career crossroads. Several “newbie” mistakes arising from inexperience have caused him to leave two well-regarded law firms. Practicing under a cloud of anxiety, Clark hopes to remain in the shadows, taking cases that are at best mundane. All this changes when a relative of Joe Moore requests that the firm reopen his case. The senior partner, Tom Clark, was the attorney of record, thus he agrees to revisit the trial. Unexpected events force Ryan to take over as the lead, and to his dismay, Joe Moore has no interest in pursuing this. He is fine with the verdict and truly believes in his guilt.
Why, then, are both men’s lives threatened? “Let sleeping dogs lie” seems to be the warning here. What follows is a testimony of faith. Ryan and his wife meet devout members of the Christian community who offer comfort and support. As mentioned, Joe Moore is also following a path of faith and courage, somewhat reminiscent of Daniel in the Lion’s Den. More emphasis is placed on the narrative of redemption. However, the mystery carries the reader along, hoping for the best for Joe and Ryan. Like all good mysteries, there is a satisfying plot twist and a need to discover if the search for truth is worth the price of potential failure.
Recommended for lovers of faith-based Christian mysteries. Suitable for all audiences from YA through adult. Some violence.
Pam Graber rated “Guilty Until Innocent” a 4 out of 5 STARS.
Let me start out by saying, this was my first Robert Whitlow book. I know, right? How can I call myself a reader? Guilty Until Innocent was a great way to start, though, and listening to the audio only enhanced the suspense.
Joe Moore has spent 25 years in prison for two murders he was too high to remember committing. While in prison, Jesus found him, and changed him into a prayer warrior and one of the leaders of several prison Bible studies. All of the men know to take their prayer concerns to Joe because his prayers see results. His family never believed in his guilt, and asks his former lawyer, Tom Clark, to look into getting him released. Content tending the prison gardens and tending the inmates’ souls, Joe initially turns their offer down, but before Tom can leave the prison grounds, Joe feels a prompt in his spirit to see where the investigation can go. The evidence against him was all circumstantial, and the crime occurred before DNA evidence could be examined. He was too stoned to remember anything that happened and sees no way that anyone could find anything new. He thinks it is a wild goose chase, but God keeps prodding him to just believe.
Lawyer Ryan Clark has lost his job twice now, once because of his own error, and the second to his firm’s downsizing. Now an associate at his cousin’s firm in Cranfield, North Carolina, he is anxious to show he is capable of being a good addition to the firm. Learning his wife is expecting their first child puts added pressure to succeed on his shoulders. When Tom asks for help researching an old case, Ryan is just thrilled not to be fired again. Tom’s heart attack makes him the lead attorney on the case. As he begins to uncover dark secrets that the local community wants to keep buried, can Ryan keep everyone safe, including Joe?
While this story started out a little slow, it ramped up quickly. I loved the character of Joe Moore. This man made a complete 180 in prison, and became a leader – for the good – among the inmates. He not only led many inmates to faith, but he also pointed his lawyer, Ryan and his wife, Paige, to a relationship with the Lord. His prayers saw results, from healed marriages to healed pregnancy issues. Anytime Joe was “on screen”, it seemed like God stepped in, too. I also liked Ryan and his earnest need to do his job well. It is his persistence that eventually cracks the case, and the result was a shocker!
Readers who enjoy courtroom drama with a hefty side of faith, will love Guilty Until Innocent. If you are already a Robert Whitlow fan, you don’t need me to tell you this one is well worth the read! I listened to this one on my NetGalley app, and the narrator did a great job with the “Carolina good-old-boy accent.” I definitely recommend!
Josephine Sorrell rated “Guilty Until Innocent” a 4 out of 5 STARS.
Do innocent folk get sentenced to prison for 26 years? This is a legal drama concerning a man behind bars who, even he, is not sure of his guilt or innocence due to former drug use. Whitlow crafts a story with themes of grace, faith, and the law into a plot that will keep you guessing until the end.
Even though life in prison is no party, Joe Moore believes he is just where God intends him to be. Joe was a drug addict and Twenty-five years ago, while high on meth, he was involved in a night of tragedies resulting in the brutal murder of a young, innocent couple. Today, Joe is not that same person. Rather he leads a thriving prison ministry and has become a role model to fellow inmates.
On the outside we meet a young lawyer, Ryan Clark and his wife, Paige, who have settled into a small North Carolina town. Things aren’t going so well for Ryan due to being fired twice from former law firms. Now newly hired by a distant relative, Ryan is committed to connecting with the right clients and handling the routine and boring aspects of law, while his cousin Tom takes on the high-profile cases.
Plans change when heart issues and Covid land Tom in the hospital, and Ryan is forced to take the lead in the law firm. This occurs just as the town’s biggest murder case in history has been reopened. Joe Moore’s niece, Shana who was a child at the time of the trial, has been doing some digging and has convinced herself that her incarcerated uncle is innocent. She insists that Ryan relaunch the investigation even though Joe initially wants no part of going back, that is until he has a talk with God and gets a change of heart.
Ryan meets with Joe and begins the new investigation. At this point both men receive threats that put their own lives, as well as the lives of those around them, in great danger. Someone doesn’t want the investigation reopened and may be willing to kill, in order to stop it. There is a deep evil in this little southern town. The chance of overturning murder conviction is slight so is it worth continuing with the case and risk physical harm?
I think you’ll be glad you started this journey and getting to know the well developed characters in Guilty Until Innocent.
Jill Wuellner rated “Guilty Until Innocent” a 3 out of 5 STARS.
Let me state up front that I’m not generally a fan of Christian literature. Not because I’m not a Christian…I am, but because I don’t find them as well written or intriguing as non-Christian fiction. While I fount Guilty Until Innocent interesting and enjoyed the characters, this fell into that same class.
Guilty Until Innocent is about Joe, a man convicted of murder who has spent the past couple of decades in prison. He’s accepted his fate, and his life has been changed by Jesus. His ministry in prison is strong and purposeful; he has been changed and is changing those around him. His family, convinced of his innocence, hires a lawyer, Ryan, to look into Joe’s case and see if new forensic evidence can be found to support their belief. Digging into the past changes the lives of everyone involved.
I found the plot to be interesting, if not somewhat predictable. Maybe I’ve read too many murder mysteries or watched too many Dateline episodes, but the twists weren’t all that surprising, and it wasn’t too hard to figure out the bad guys. I found the legal aspects to be interesting, and would have loved to hear more about Ryan practicing law. The bones of this story are great, but I would have like to see it comes to life a little differently.
The strongest feature of this book were the main and supporting characters. The main characters were well-rounded, interesting, and relatable. Unfortunately there were characters (specifically the church ladies) who were simply over-the-top and unrealistic. I simply found them to be unbelievable. I couldn’t wait to get through the chapters with those characters present.
The weakest aspect is the religion portrayed. Joe prays and it rains. Joe prays and Tom is healed. Joe writes a letter and Paige is converted. Joe prays and a relationship is made whole. Everyone who prays hears God. I simply know from a lifetime of experience that is unrealistic. Kind of like a romance novel where the characters are beautiful, witty, successful, and their only flaw is how romantic and considerate they are at every turn.
Overall, it wasn’t terrible, and for a Christian novel…well, I’ve read worse.
