Customer Reviews

The Cross Examination of Oliver Finney

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When it comes to legal thrillers with timely themes, Randy Singer never fails. He tackles issues that others fear. He creates a cast of characters that move in and out of his novels independently, yet joyously interconnected. Then, he comes along with a book such as "The Cross Examination of Oliver Finney."

Singer's premise is profoundly simple. A billionaire facing a deadly illness decides to pit representatives of America's top religions against each other in a reality TV show. The winner will be the one who displays a faith that stands the test of mental, spiritual, and physical endurance. In the face of death, whose beliefs are real? Along the way, in typical Singer fashion, he serves up sub-plots and red-herrings before revealing the full truth behind the show.

The layers involved in this book are a work of genius. Not only does the story use succinct but effective synopses of different religions, it makes the individual characters seem believable and sympathetic. Singer works a number of codes and ciphers throughout the plot, and, to top it all off, he parallels these codes with those in his companion work of non-fiction, "The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ."

I raced through the story. I was impressed. Admittedly, I missed the courtroom shenanigans that I've come to expect with Singer's work. As a writer, I loved the creativity and risk in this story; as a reader, I wished for a little more of the personal and legal aspects of his previous books.

That said, this is a must for any Singer fan. It's a mind-boggling amount of work woven cohesively between two separate books. It's entertaining fiction, which also engages the spirit and mind. Singer poses questions and answers--and in the end, he lets the reader be the judge.

The Cross Examination of Oliver Finney is a great combination: A suspense novel with a very interesting premise and lots of exploration of several major world religions.

It begins with a billionaire who has terminal cancer who is desperate to find answers about the end of life and afterlife. He decides to stage a reality television show to get his answers. He sets it up with representatives of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and atheism. The contestants are placed on a remote island with no communication with the outside world.

During the course of the contest, the participants become aware of a nefarious plot. Judge Oliver Finney, the contestant representing Christianity, devises a way to communicate with his law clerk with various codes. Between the various ciphers and the dynamics of the reality show format, the author has created numerous twists and turns that will keep the reader guessing.

It is really a highly entertaining and educational (Christian apologetics) novel. I definitely recommend it.

Loaded with ciphers and hidden messages, this book is highly entertaining and suspenseful. The coded messages reminded me of The DaVinci Code, but I enjoyed this book so much more because of the thread of faith that is woven throughout the story. My only regret is that the reader wasn't given all of the puzzle's clues to solve prior to the solution being revealed. Randy Singer also cleverly capitalizes on the popularity of reality TV to entice the reader.

Oliver Finney is a Virginia judge invited to be a contestant on the reality TV show "Faith on Trial". He is representing the Christian faith. There is also a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu and a scientist. Each endures the challenges of "the game" to be declared champion and earn a sizable check for their favorite charity. But this game isn't all it appears to be. Judge Finney works with his assistant, Nikki, to uncover the real purpose of the game in this intelligently written and suspenseful novel.

Where on earth was I a few months ago when this book and it's nonfiction companion, The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ, came out? If I had known then what I was missing, I likely would've tossed aside whatever was next in the review pile and cracked these babies open.

I don't think I can write a better review than Eric Wilson did (1st review you come to), as I agree with most of what he said. These books amazed and thrilled me. Seriously--what a grand idea to market an entertaining novel and a convicting apologetics book together. Brilliant. They made me feel great, smart, and stupid all at the same time.

I'm rambling now, so I'll stop. The novel by itself deserves just shy of 5 stars. The nonfiction deserves 5. Nuff said.

I like books that are "intelligent" as well as entertaining. This book causes you to think and enjoy at the same time.

This book was picked for our book club at the local Christian bookstore. It's not our usual genre, that being Historical Fiction, but we decided to mix it up a bit. And I am thrilled that we did! I couldn't put this book down. For the most part, the character development was awesome. The plot was so complex and exciting, and the end just about floored me! What more can you ask in a book? I will definitely read more from Randy Singer. All the reviewers have done a great job explaining the book to you. I just wanted to add to the chorus with my praise.

I've read Randy Singer's Christmas book, which was great, but this one is definitely even better! I love that he manages to tie apologetics into a thriller. It takes a little while to get going in this book, but once you're hooked, it hurts to put it down!

This is a fun read, with plots twists and hidden messages. It would be interesting to see this done as a movie.

In the prologue to this page-turning novel, you meet "The Patient," a billionaire who's dying of brain cancer. With an estimated year left, he stares at the face of death yet doesn't believe in God. While watching an episode of "Survivor," he decides to create the ultimate reality show with the world's religions. With powerful proponents for each religion, the contestants will match wits on a remote island with the prize being millions to their favorite charity, and even the Patient would join the religion of the winner. For the bulk of the rest of the novel, the Patient disappears but is ever-present in the background watching the reality show "Faith on Trial."

Crusty cigar-smoking Judge Oliver Finney wonders why he has tried out for this reality show; then, to his amazement, he's selected to defend Christianity. Finney has a persistent cough, a constant reminder that he is dying of liver cancer. With the other candidates, Finney is spirited off to an island where in the Paradise Courthouse he defends Christianity in the face of a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Muslim and a young female scientist, Dr. Victoria Kline. As typical for the "Survivor"-type reality show, the contestants form alliances and Judge Finney makes his with Dr. Kline.

While the contestants have access to the Internet to research and prepare their religious defense, their every keystroke is monitored. Finney creates a complex code method of communicating with his former law clerk, Nikki Moreno, who is preparing to take her LSAT. With the aide of Wellington Farmington, a young techno-geek, Nikki breaks the coded messages from Judge Finney. The code is tied to an out-of-print apologetics book that Finney wrote called THE CROSS EXAMINATION OF JESUS CHRIST. Moreno learns about Christ as she helps her former boss prepare for his defense of Christianity. The interaction between the characters in this suspense thriller teaches insight into faith in action as well as creates a riveting story.

Like a regular trial, the reality show includes a judge and jury with each proponent of their faith trained in legal jostling. The contestants examine and cross-examine each other. The show producers have investigated each person and discovered a secret about each one that they use as leverage to keep them in the contest.

In a unique manner, attorney Randy Singer has turned the reality show craze on its head as a means to draw the reader into a deeper faith in Christ. Well-drawn characters and interesting dialogue combine to make this thriller one that is hard to put down.


--- Reviewed by W. Terry Whalin, writer and editor in Scottsdale, Arizona. His latest book is BOOK PROPOSALS THAT $ELL, 21 SECRETS TO SPEED YOUR SUCCESS (Write Now Publications). [...] .

Randy Singer, former trial lawyer, has written a novel that is actually connected with another non-fiction book that he has published at the same time. In the novel, Christian trial judge Oliver Finney is selected to represent Christians in a faith-based reality show, Faith Under Fire. Pitted against the likes of a Muslim, a follower of the Hindu religion and an agnostic, the show affords each a chance to question and be questioned about their respective stances on faith. When word leaks out about a possible conspiracy surrounding the show, Judge Finney secretly communicates with his law clerk using his "written under a pen name" non-fiction book, "The Cross Examination of Jesus" as a code-bearing text. As the story unfolds, Judge Finney finds himself bonding with the other contestants while racing against the clock to find out what is the reality of the show.