Into the Book

4

Life Support - Robert Whitlow

Recommended
Life Support, by Robert Whitlow, is an excellent example of modern fiction, more specifically, the genre of legal thirller. This book has a unique premise, and though there's not much action, the book holds a plot that sucks you in on every page. Whitlow’s words leave you hoping for more; his writing style is exceptional. In short, I highly recommend Life Support.

The entire book revolves around one simple action: Rena Richardson, the new bride of Baxter Richardson, is hiking with her husband along trails she used to hike in her youth. Rena, a victim of abuse by her step-father, is sitting at the top of a waterfall with Baxter, when inexplicably he appears to be her step-father. She decides that he will end up like her abusive father, and pushes him off of the waterfall. He falls seventy-five feet to the ground and appears dead.

Except...Baxter does not die. He remains alive on life support. His father, Ezra Richardson, is quick to keep Baxter alive through life support - but are these actions those of a loving father, or one who wants to exercise his power of attorney to drain Baxter's money? No one can guess Rena’s motivations, or seem to pierce her complicated tangle of lie after lie. Rena longs to be free of Baxter, and holds a written declaration stating that Baxter does not want to be kept alive unnaturally, to her benefit.

Still, to overrule Ezra's power of attorney, shell need a lawyet. Which brings in Alexia Lindale, who gets sucked into the entire affair and ends up losing her job over the case when it is revealed that her boss has large stakes in Ezra’s wealth and doesn’t want to do anything to jeapordize that money. Alexia’s entire career, and her new independent law practice, balances over this case.

Along the way, we’re introduced to other characters such as Ted Morgan, the music minister who begins to have a large impact on Alexia and the situation. A simple few paragraphs description cannot do this plot justice. It is, first and foremost about the characters and their emotions. In fact, the story doesn’t finish with this book, but continues in the Life Support series. Overall, the plot is excellent, and it really draws you into the characters and their story; they feel like real people in South Carolina; like a story that really happened.

My one nit-pick with the book would be that it doesn’t directly condemn Rena’s actions in pushing her husband off of the cliff. Still, the terrible mental anguish which she is cursed with after the ‘accident’ are punishment enough, and speak strongly of the consequences of such an action. This, in my opinion, is almost as good as directly saying that what Rena did was wrong, because it shows in real life what happens when something like this occurs.

I highly recommend Life Support to anyone who’s interested in an excellent read with lots of interesting twists. Overall, the book captivated my attention and I really would like to read the second in the series. Life Support is an excellent choice for your next realistic fiction read.

Andrew

4 comments:

  1. Hmm, this one looks good. I haven't dabbled much in the "legal thriller" genre, but this might be a great place to start. Thanks for the review! :)

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  2. Interesting... I'd be curious to see where this book comes from, having been in the life support position before.

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  3. I enjoyed every moment reading this book. Just wrote a review too. Good stuff!

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