(Note: I received this book from Mind & Media as a gift from the publisher who has donated the books for the sole purpose of receiving reviews.)

Presumed Guilty is written by popular Christian author, James Scott Bell. Aside from historical fiction, my other favorite genre is the "thriller/mystery" novel. From the back cover,

"Pastor Ron Hamilton's star is rising. His 8,000-strong church is thriving. And his book on pornography in the church has become an unexpected bestseller. Everything is perfect ... until a young woman's body is discovered in a seedy motel room. The woman is a porn star. And all evidence in the murder points to one man: Ron."

Once I read the back of the book, I knew I was hooked and once again found myself staying up WAY past my bedtime reading ... trying to find a place to stop so that I could finally get some z's - LOL! Ron's wife, Dallas, doesn't stop her pursuit of the truth even when there doesn't seem to be a reason for her NOT to believe her husband's declaration of innocence in the murder of the woman. Unfortunately, she is trusting people who cannot be trusted. I don't want to give too much away by reviewing this book in a lot of detail. One aspect of the book that I did like is the honest portrayal of a Christian wife who has found out that she is a victim of adultery. Her feelings and response are very believable ... just because she is a Christian doesn't mean that she immediately forgives her husband for his transgression.

There is also a second storyline in this novel - that of Jared, the son of Dallas and Ron, who has returned from Iraq and is now dealing with his own demons. He has renounced his faith and turned to drugs and booze since returning to the US. Now, Jared must find his way back to the church if he is to be able to deal with the voices in his head. A former preacher at Ron's church has some very interesting thoughts about what is causing the mental problems plaguing troops who have returned from Iraq. I really enjoyed this second storyline and would love to see a future book about what happened to Jared after this storyline ended.

Presumed Guilty deals with some tough issues - pornography, adultery, physical abuse, betrayal and the typical "test of faith" found in Christian novels. However, it is not a graphic novel even though it is definitely an "adult" read. It was interesting to read into the psyche of a "man of God" - his thoughts about being a pastor to a large congregation. Ron's doubts about himself made him a more believable character. The ending was satisfying and mostly surprising for me (although I'm usually not trying to figure out the end before it happens anyway!). There are some twists and turns that keep you guessing right to the very end. I have never read a book by this author before, but I will definitely be checking out other novels by James Scott Bell.

... Kris ...