Dead Man’s Rule - Acker, Rick. Kregel, c2005. 316p. $12.99, Paperback. ISBN 0825420067. 813’.6 Christian life—Fiction.

Ben Corbin is a lawyer trying to make a living as a sole practitioner after leaving a large corporation. Because he needs the money, he takes on what he thinks is a simple contract dispute case, which turns into more than he bargained for. His new client, Mikhail Ivanovsky, tells him that he bought the contents of a safe deposit box from the executor of an estate. While his client says the box holds some jewelry, it soon becomes evident that there is much more than jewelry involved. When several key witnesses are killed or disappear without explanation prior to the trial, Ivanovsky confesses that the box holds biological weapons of mass destruction, which if they lose the case will be awarded by the unsuspecting court to terrorists. This is a fast-paced book with subtle references to faith and doing what is right. Unlike some Christian fiction, its faith references are few, but they are not lost on the reader. This would be a good addition for those readers who shy away from traditional Christian fiction as too “preachy.” I liked the book very much.

Marian Peck
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
Gibsonia, Pennsylvania