Book Review-The Witness by Robert Whitlow

In The Witnesses, Robert Whitlow masterfully weaves an intriguing and suspenseful tale of two men bound both by blood and a special gift.

The book opens with Franz Haus, a young officer in the German Wehrmacht, whose premonitions give him insights that are valuable to his superior, General Berg, and to the Nazi forces. Sixty-four years later, Frank (as he is now called) is a retired fisherman living in New Bern, North Carolina. His grandson Parker, orphaned at age 17, has recently returned home to New Bern and is an associate attorney who, because of his own hunches, is able to provide key information to the two attorneys for whom he works.

Whitlow’s characters are well-drawn, complex, and realistic. His characterization of Frank, a character whose war-time activities make him susceptible to the reader’s contempt, is especially impressive. Whitlow doesn’t ignore or even attempt to whitewash Franz/Frank’s wartime activities; instead, he paints them clearly. He goes on, then, to deftly portray the troubled young man who grows to become a grandfather haunted by regrets concerning what were, at the time, well-intentioned acts.

Parker is equally well-developed and believable. His struggles to overcome workplace frustrations and to come to grips with the gift he is just now beginning to recognize are compelling. Added to that are his fledgling romance with photographer Layla Donovan and his handling of the flattering attentions of her powerful attorney father, Tom Blocker.

The author transitions smoothly between the dual settings of WWII Germany and 2003 New Bern, and the various subplots are are knit together seamlessly. Additionally, the drama of Frank’s story and of Parker’s professional life are nicely balanced with Frank’s friendship with Lenny and Parker’s relationship with Layla. The various elements work together to create a plot that is complex but clear and that culminates in a dramatic and satisfying finish.

The Witnesses, published by Thomas Nelson (July 2016), examines issues of faith and of how it intersects with daily life. Partly in response to the urging of his best friend Lenny, Frank returns to the church; the resurgence of his faith in God is framed against Parker’s indifference toward spiritual matters. Both men come to their own understanding of God and spirituality, as well as of how their gift of premonitions is connected to the two.

Whitlow is a gifted storyteller, and The Witnesses is a testament to that fact. However, this novel is more than just an extremely well-written thriller connecting Nazi Germany and early 21st-century America. It also points to God’s forgiveness of man, to man’s acceptance of that forgiveness, and, finally, to man’s ability to forgive himself.

In short, The Witnesses is a page-turner that will capture the reader’s attention and refuse to relinquish it, even after the last page has been read.

Book Review by Patti Miinch: Patti Miinch, a widow and mother of two adult children, lives in Southeast Missouri. Her lifelong passion — as both a writer and a reader

— for the written word led her to pursue a career as an English professor. Her hobbies include watching college and professional sports, spending time with her family, knitting, spending time outdoors, and traveling.