The Cross Examination of Oliver Finney

I like books that are "intelligent" as well as entertaining. This book causes you to think and enjoy at the same time.

This book was picked for our book club at the local Christian bookstore. It's not our usual genre, that being Historical Fiction, but we decided to mix it up a bit. And I am thrilled that we did! I couldn't put this book down. For the most part, the character development was awesome. The plot was so complex and exciting, and the end just about floored me! What more can you ask in a book? I will definitely read more from Randy Singer. All the reviewers have done a great job explaining the book to you. I just wanted to add to the chorus with my praise.

I've read Randy Singer's Christmas book, which was great, but this one is definitely even better! I love that he manages to tie apologetics into a thriller. It takes a little while to get going in this book, but once you're hooked, it hurts to put it down!

In the prologue to this page-turning novel, you meet "The Patient," a billionaire who's dying of brain cancer. With an estimated year left, he stares at the face of death yet doesn't believe in God. While watching an episode of "Survivor," he decides to create the ultimate reality show with the world's religions. With powerful proponents for each religion, the contestants will match wits on a remote island with the prize being millions to their favorite charity, and even the Patient would join the religion of the winner. For the bulk of the rest of the novel, the Patient disappears but is ever-present in the background watching the reality show "Faith on Trial." Crusty cigar-smoking Judge Oliver Finney wonders why he has tried out for this reality show; then, to his amazement, he's selected to defend Christianity. Finney has a persistent cough, a constant reminder that he is dying of liver cancer. With the other candidates, Finney is spirited off to an island where in the Paradise Courthouse he defends Christianity in the face of a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Muslim and a young female scientist, Dr. Victoria Kline. As typical for the "Survivor"-type reality show, the contestants form alliances and Judge Finney makes his with Dr. Kline. While the contestants have access to the Internet to research and prepare their religious defense, their every keystroke is monitored. Finney creates a complex code method of communicating with his former law clerk, Nikki Moreno, who is preparing to take her LSAT. With the aide of Wellington Farmington, a young techno-geek, Nikki breaks the coded messages from Judge Finney. The code is tied to an out-of-print apologetics book that Finney wrote called THE CROSS EXAMINATION OF JESUS CHRIST. Moreno learns about Christ as she helps her former boss prepare for his defense of Christianity. The interaction between the characters in this suspense thriller teaches insight into faith in action as well as creates a riveting story. Like a regular trial, the reality show includes a judge and jury with each proponent of their faith trained in legal jostling. The contestants examine and cross-examine each other. The show producers have investigated each person and discovered a secret about each one that they use as leverage to keep them in the contest. In a unique manner, attorney Randy Singer has turned the reality show craze on its head as a means to draw the reader into a deeper faith in Christ. Well-drawn characters and interesting dialogue combine to make this thriller one that is hard to put down. --- Reviewed by W. Terry Whalin, writer and editor in Scottsdale, Arizona. His latest book is BOOK PROPOSALS THAT $ELL, 21 SECRETS TO SPEED YOUR SUCCESS (Write Now Publications). [...] .

When it comes to legal thrillers with timely themes, Randy Singer never fails. He tackles issues that others fear. He creates a cast of characters that move in and out of his novels independently, yet joyously interconnected. Then, he comes along with a book such as "The Cross Examination of Oliver Finney." Singer's premise is profoundly simple. A billionaire facing a deadly illness decides to pit representatives of America's top religions against each other in a reality TV show. The winner will be the one who displays a faith that stands the test of mental, spiritual, and physical endurance. In the face of death, whose beliefs are real? Along the way, in typical Singer fashion, he serves up sub-plots and red-herrings before revealing the full truth behind the show. The layers involved in this book are a work of genius. Not only does the story use succinct but effective synopses of different religions, it makes the individual characters seem believable and sympathetic. Singer works a number of codes and ciphers throughout the plot, and, to top it all off, he parallels these codes with those in his companion work of non-fiction, "The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ." I raced through the story. I was impressed. Admittedly, I missed the courtroom shenanigans that I've come to expect with Singer's work. As a writer, I loved the creativity and risk in this story; as a reader, I wished for a little more of the personal and legal aspects of his previous books. That said, this is a must for any Singer fan. It's a mind-boggling amount of work woven cohesively between two separate books. It's entertaining fiction, which also engages the spirit and mind. Singer poses questions and answers--and in the end, he lets the reader be the judge.