Not Your Typical Who Done It
ISBN-13: 978-0890515846
Julie Cave's brand novel weaves together murder, mystery, intrigue and believe it or not - evangelism. The setting is modern-day Washington D.C. Thomas Whitfield, the broadly respected secretary of the Smithsonian disappears initially without a trace.
In addition to battling her own grief induced demons. Semi-suicidal FBI agent Dinah Harris has a missing person turned murder victim case to solve. Fighting to keep her focus, she struggles to find answers to why Thomas Whitfield vanished from his office and was subsequently murdered.
Harris and her partner, David Ferguson learn that an intricate political conspiracy to maintain a clearly defined line of separation between Creation and Evolution is at the bottom of a brutal string of murders. The body count rises with every round of questioning of potential witnesses and suspects.
Prior to his death, Whitfield comes to know Christ through a most unlikely source - a former opponent whom he'd debated creation versus evolution in public forums for many years. It is discovered that Whitfield's rise from obscurity to notoriety was a result of an orchestration which included a group of prominent social and political figures who turn out to be staunch evolutionists.
Cave's choreography of words and tedious details of torture, violence and aftermath crime scenes are prolific. I practically smelled formaldehyde while reading a scene that types place during an autopsy.
I was delighted by Cave's ability to keep me guessing who was ultimately responsible for the murders. The nurturer in me wanted to reach out to Agent Harris as she combated the desire to end her life and I'm especially appreciative of Caves ability to keep me intrigued about the cause of Dinah's deep depression until nearly the end of the story. The storyline is marvelously crafted. It evokes thought, emotion and possibly a call to action.
It is apparent that Cave's intent in her writing is witnessing however I personally found parts of the book a bit religiously academic - perhaps a tad preachy. Some may find the language a bit hard to comprehend or embrace but not to the point that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is diluted or altered.
My Rating: ****
