| Book Review - Deception |
|
By Randy Alcorn
Publisher:
Review by Tom Gilbert
Purchase book here
Ollie Chandler is about as hard-boiled as
a homicide detective can be. He has pretty much seen it all.
He’s also lived through some tough patches, including
the loss of both a child and a wife. Death is part of his world,
but the biggest danger he faces might be the death of his soul.
Chandler works the murder beat in Portland, Oregon and when
he gets the case of the murdered college philosophy professor
he faces some disturbing mysteries. His rule is always to follow
the evidence no matter where it leads. In this case there’s
a lot of evidence and not of it all makes sense. But it seems
to be pointing to someone in his department. And there’s
also the disturbing realization that he can’t account
for some of his actions the night of the murder.
Randy Alcorn, popular Christian fiction and non-fiction writer,
has created a real page turner with this novel. Deception is
the third in a set of novels involving some of the same characters
(the others are Deadline and Dominion). I love the humanity
of Ollie Chandler. He’s a down-to-earth guy with a lot
of frustrations over the way the world is. He can’t swallow
a belief in a loving God, not after what he’s seen and
experienced. And he’s also had the unfortunate run-ins
with the self-righteous Christian. You know the kind. They are
in your face about how if you aren’t saved you’re
going right to hell and you better get religion and find Jesus
NOW. That brand of evangelism has always done more harm than
good.
The story will reel you in and entertain
you for all the plot twists and detective who-done-it speculation.
And it’s hard not to like the protagonist despite his
faults. He’s got a big old dog as his best friend and
feeds him pizza, hamburger and donuts. He likes to eat at greasy
spoon diners and play old rock n’ roll on the jukebox.
He’ll call a spade a spade, but he also has friends who’ll
tell him the truth, even when he doesn’t want to hear
it.
The underlying Christian message is also there, but it’s
subtle and presented by friends of Chandler who love him and
enjoy him despite his gruffness and religious apathy. There
are deep discussions and there’s some soul light shining
in the darkness.
If you like Mike Hammer and you enjoy a good mystery then I
definitely recommend you give Alcorn and Deception a read.
Bestselling author Randy Alcorn
is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries.
He has written several novels and non-fiction books. He lives
with his wife, Nanci, in Oregon. They have two married daughters
and three grandsons. |
| Be sure to check out other
book reviews posted on our site. |
|
|
