The Judge by Randy Singer

 

Previously published as The Cross Examination of Oliver Finney.

 

When a brilliant billionaire is diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer, he realizes that all his considerable wealth cannot prepare him to meet his Maker. But he has an idea that might: he will stage the ultimate reality show. With his true agenda hidden, he auditions followers from all the world’s major religions, inviting them to the trial of their lives on a remote island, where they must defend their beliefs against spiritual challenges.

Oliver Finney, a feisty old judge with his own secrets, is chosen to defend Christianity. As the program takes a strange twist, he quickly realizes he is trapped in a game of deadly agendas that may cost him his life. With Internet access monitored, Finney sends coded messages to his law clerk, Nikki Moreno. Aided by a teen crypto-geek, Nikki soon discovers the key to understanding Finney’s clues in an apologetics book Finney wrote and must race against time to decipher the mysteries contained in the ancient words of Christ before her boss dies defending them.

 

The Judge by Randy Singer was an amazing book that displayed the truth of Christianity against other religions in a brilliant manner. The story line was astounding, filled with plot twists, suspense, mystery, near death experiences, and the power of the Gospel. The narration of the story switched between Oliver Finney, his law clerk, Nikki, and the unknown backer of the entire "game". This allowed the reader to have an idea of what was happening to Finney on the island and to experience Nikki's process in trying to figure out Finney's code and to understand Christianity. This narration style also gave the reader a glimpse into what the unknown opponent what was thinking and planning while also increasing the suspense since the reader still had no idea who this person was. The characters of this novel were excellently developed and very realistic. Finney and Nikki both experienced personal challenges, and it was interesting to see how each choose to deal with these. Nikki grew a lot during the novel as she begin to experience Christianity and to understand why Finney was defending the truth. This novel also clearly portrayed the importance of living according to and defending your belief in God as well as what happens when a person takes a 'death sentence' and instead of turning to God, chooses to finish their life with evil.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed The Judge,  and I would highly recommend this novel as well as the rest of Randy Singer's novels to anyone who enjoys well written and suspenseful legal thrillers.