Water’s Edge by Robert Whitlow
Thomas Nelson, July 19, 2011

Sometimes small towns hold the biggest secrets.

Ambitious young attorney Tom Crane is about to become a partner in a high-profile Atlanta law firm. But first he must clear one final matter from his docket-the closing of his deceased father’s law practice in his hometown of Bethel, Georgia. Killed in a mysterious boating accident, John Crane didn’t appear to leave his son anything except the hassle of wrapping up loose ends.
But instead of celebrating his promotion, Tom finds himself packing up his office, having suddenly been “consolidated.” To add insult to injury, that same night his girlfriend breaks up with him . . . by letter.

Returning to Bethel with no sense of his future and no faith to fall back on, Tom just wants to settle his father’s final affairs and get back to Atlanta. But then he runs into an unexpected roadblock-two million dollars of unclaimed money stashed in a secret bank account. And evidence that his father’s death may not have been accidental. Worse still, a trail of data suggests his father played a role in an international fraud operation.

Tom follows the money into a tangled web of lies, theft, and betrayal. Along the way, he meets a woman who is as beguiling as she is beautiful. And her interest in the outcome of the case is just as high as his. She challenges Tom’s assumptions . . . and his faith. Now he has to decide who he can trust-and how far a father’s love can reach.

This is my first Robert Whitlow book.I bought the book ages ago because I thought my husband would like to read it. He enjoyed it and it just took me forever to pick it up – silly, never-ending-pile-of-books-to read!

For the most part I really enjoyed this book. There were just a few things that stumped me. I got a bit lost with the legal jargon, okay a lot confused! I don’t normally read legal fiction books, so I’m not familiar with most of the terms used. I also felt things happened very fast in the book without much pause to consider how the character would feel. For example when Tom’s girlfriend breaks up with him via letter, it seems Tom is barely hurt by the news and the manner in which it was delivered. He just kind of shrugs his shoulders and moves on. it seems to me that he might be a little more hurt, especially considering the days events!

Having said that, the rest of the book was engaging and enjoyable and it kept me reading trying to figure out the mystery. I was surprised but not surprised as the mystery unraveled – that’s a good thing for me. As it means the author had my attention and had engaged my brain.

I will be reading more of this author in the future. 🙂

Jess

Jess is a mum of two children and married to the calmest man alive. She loves to bake and go for walks. A writer of contemporary romance, Jess write stories about the heart and where love is worth the journey.