Jim was finishing th day's work when his eyes drifted over to the coffee shop visible from his office window. An attractive woman driving an expesive car pulled up to the curb...and out stepped Dave, Jim's married pastor.
"For a while I tried to convince myself that a pastor sometimes rides in a Mercedes with a woman who's not his wife. But the more I tried to imagine the scenarios, the less I could believe it."
Matthew Raley has crafted an all too realistic tale. No one wants to believe that their pastor would do something wrong and then lie about it. I knew a pastor who was involved in something they should not have been doing. Like Jim in the story, my first reaction was doubt. I did not believe that my pastor was doing anything wrong. The author has done an excellent job of creating the feelings and thoughts that go with this situation.
I thought the characters were represented the type of people found in most churches. After reading about them, I could match the characters to people that I know. Sometimes, first time authors struggle with realistically portraying the supporting characters. Not so with Raley. His first novel features many great characters.
If you are looking for a book that makes you feel warm and fuzzy, look somewhere else. Raley has created a lesson for the church community. This is a lesson that Christians need. We need to help our pastors stay accountable. With some pastors, this is easy to do. But when you run into a situation like the one described in this book, you need all the help you can get. The Christian fiction market needs more books like this.
Highly recommended.
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