Chosen People by Robert Whitlow ~ Book Tour and Review

Publisher's Description:
Bestselling author Robert Whitlow returns with an international legal drama that speaks to critical issues of our day.

You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation...

 During a terrorist attack near the Western Wall in Jerusalem, a courageous mother sacrifices her life to save her four-year-old daughter, leaving behind a grieving husband and a motherless child. Hana Abboud, a Christian Arab Israeli lawyer trained at Hebrew University, typically uses her multi-language skills to represent international clients for an Atlanta law firm. When her boss is contacted by Jakob Brodsky, a young Jewish lawyer aggressively pursuing a lawsuit on behalf of the family under the US Anti-Terrorism laws, he calls on Hana’s expertise to take point on the case. After careful prayer, she joins forces with Jakob, and they quickly realize the need to bring in a third member for their team, an Arab investigator named Daud Hasan, based in Israel. To unravel the case, this team of investigators goes from the streets of Atlanta to the alleys of Jerusalem, a world where hidden motives thrive, the risk of death is real, and the search for truth has many faces. What they will uncover will forever change their understanding of justice, heritage, and what it means to be chosen for a greater purpose.

My Thoughts:
This story was an interesting look into terrorism in the Middle East and it's legalities as related to U.S. terrorism laws.  Hana Abboud was a very interesting main character.  As a Christian Arab Israeli lawyer there were many facets to her personality and her faith is strong and touches everything including her work life.  I really liked how faith forward her character was. Because of growing up in Israel and her skill with the languages there, she is now working for an Atlanta law firm when she is asked to be co-counsel on a case that a secular Jewish lawyer, Jakob Brodsky,  is trying to pursue for one of his clients, a man who's wife was killed and daughter injured in a act of terrorism while on holiday in Jerusalem.  As the case progresses, they realize they will need help and Hanna pursues hiring an investigator who will help them on the Middle East side of digging out the truth.   As she and Jakob try to juggle their working relationship events in Atalanta start to look like there might be a connection to the case they are working on.     The story was good though I felt the romantic part of the story didn't ring quite true for me.  There was some aspects of that relationship that just felt rushed.  But other than that I found it interesting learning about relations between the Arab and Israeli parts of the Holy Land, reading about different areas and attractions of Israel and how laws affect pursuing justice in acts of terrorism. I loved the exploration of being chosen for a greater purpose both in the sense of the Jewish people and in a personal way and enjoyed Jakob's growth within the story. If you like legal thrillers with lots of action and light romances this would be a great read, though if reading about terrorism is a trigger for you, I would have to add a caution as this book does not shy away from it's plans and effects.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers for providing a copy free of charge for my honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.