The Justice Game - My Verdict (of the Book) and Giveaway!

UPDATE: Wednesday, 9:30 p.m.

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Timestamp: 2009-07-30 02:17:57 UTC
Congrats to A Stone Gatherer! Email me your address, Kim, and I'll send the gift certificate your way!

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I've never served on jury duty. In fact, I've only received a summons once, and I was able to be excused from even showing up due to having young kids. I did attend one day of a trial years ago and found it fascinating. And while I'm not a fan of most legal thrillers, Randy Singer's books are the exception. His previous book, By Reason of Insanity, was excellent and was nominated for a Christy Award.

So it was with great interest that I read his newest book The Justice Game (Tyndale Publishers). And wow! My verdict is that he is guilty of writing a fascinating and eye-opening book! Gun control is a hot topic in today's world, as is the subject of lawsuits and corporate vs. personal responsibility. And contrary to many authors who use their writing as a bully pulpit or soapbox for their own agenda, Randy Singer has approached this in a thoughtful and thorough manner, putting faces and personalities to both sides of this issue and adding complexities that caused me to reflect on my initial dogmatic opinion. In fact, as he was writing the book, Randy Singer impaneled a shadow jury and allowed readers to vote for the verdict online, matching the end of the story to readers' outcome. And although I participated in that online vote, I vacillated throughout the book as the story was so well-balanced and expertly written that I found myself agreeing with statements that both lawyers made.

And throwing a monkey wrench in the works, as we like to say down here, the issues of integrity and blackmail add even more complexity. Several subtle spiritual lessons can be drawn from the story as well. This is a brilliantly written book, and I heartily recommend it.

About The Justice Game

After the target of an investigative report storms a Virginia Beach news studio, he executes one of the anchors on live television before the SWAT team is able to take him down. Following the victim’s funeral, her family files a lawsuit against the gun company who manufactured the killer’s weapon of choice.

The lawyers for the plaintiff and defendant—-Kelly Starling and Jason Noble-—are young, charismatic, and highly successful. They’re also easy blackmail targets, each harboring a personal secret so devastating it could destroy their careers.

Millions of dollars-—and more than a few lives-—are at stake. But as Kelly and Jason battle each other, they discover that the real fight is with unseen forces intent on controlling them both.

About Randy’s Approach to this Book

The Justice Game asks whether justice can be bought and sold in America and focuses specifically on the national gun debate. Randy’s goal in this book was not to make converts to either side but to present both perspectives of the debate and let readers draw their own conclusion. In fact, Randy’s book has been endorsed by people from both sides of the aisle.

Randy took a unique approach to determining the verdict in this story—he had his readers decide. Readers were invited to watch a special online video of the closing arguments and then vote on the verdict. People took this very seriously, and from feedback we received, it was a difficult decision for many. While the jury has made its decision, you can still view the video at his website.

Randy wrote this book out of a very personal experience. He discusses that experience, the spiritual message of the book, and the issues addressed within it in this brief video:



ABOUT RANDY SINGER:
Randy Singer is a man of many talents. He "believes it’s important to simultaneously hold a number of different jobs so that if he gets fired by two employers the same day, he can still avoid the unemployment line. He splits his time and divides his personality between Randy Singer, critically acclaimed author, Randy Singer, veteran trial lawyer, and Randy Singer, ministry leader and preacher. When he grows up, he will decide what he really wants to do." He served as Executive Vice-President and General Counsel of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (NAMB) and then as President of FamilyNet television. In addition to his law practice, he continues in ministry as an interim pastor, pointing out that he is "a preaching lawyer: proof positive that God can use anybody to do anything." He has a great sense of humor, too: his website even has a section of lawyer jokes!

(On a personal note, he preached a Sunday AM service in our church a few years ago and was phenomenal.)


GIVEAWAY
I have a gift certificate for this book and an autographed bookplate for one of you! The gift certificate is good at Christian bookstores in the United States; if there isn't one in your area you can redeem it directly with Tyndale. To enter, leave a comment on this post by 8:00 pm CDT Wednesday (7/29) and I will draw a winner. US residents only, please.

If you don't win, purchase The Justice Game at Amazon, Lifeway, or Parable.