Chosen People

This tense legal thriller from Whitlow (A Time to Stand) boasts intriguing characters such as attorney Hana Abboud, a deeply religious Christian Arab Israeli currently working for a prestigious Atlanta law firm, and Jakob Brodsky, an idealistic Russian-American secular Jew whose one-man law firm has bitten off more than it can chew. Jakob’s client, Ben Neumann, lost his wife four years earlier while vacationing in Jerusalem, when terrorists killed her as she shielded their toddler daughter from harm. Ben is seeking justice via the American court system. The case is a long shot, but Hana agrees to join the case, for reasons having as much to do with her faith in God as with the law. Shortly after they sign the agreement to work together, the stakes rise when Jakob is mugged in an Atlanta apartment complex and his car sabotaged. Trips to Israel place both Hana and Jakob in imminent danger as one gripping chapter leads to the next, though the ending comes as something of a letdown. Readers will have a hard time putting this one down. (Nov.)