Persecuted, I will not be Silent! by Robin Parrish

As John Luther ran in blind panic through the woods, desperately trying to get away from the men who abducted him, he couldn’t believe this was really happening to him.  It didn’t make sense; what did they want with a preacher, a God-fearing, peace-loving man with a wife and a daughter, devoted to teaching the truth of God’s word.  Who would want to harm the man who was considered the most popular evangelist of his day?  Barely stopped to catch his breath, he suddenly doubled over, coughing and gagging, and threw up on the ground.  His body was sluggish, his brain foggy.  He knew he had been injected with some kind of drug.  Then suddenly he sank into darkness.

It was in all the news – John had been charged with the rape and murder of a young teenage girl.  Horrified by the filth the media was saying about him, John knew that somehow he must prove his innocence and find out who had set him up, who was framing him.  Thinking that it couldn’t get any worse, John found that he was wrong.

The strain of evading both the police and the men persecuting him was taking its toll, but at least he had discovered the reason for his life being turned upside down.  John had refused to lend his support of a new religious-equality bill for which his senator friend had been pressing him.  And his endorsement was critical.  Was the senator the mastermind behind this plot or did it go higher up – as far as the White House?

I love to read suspense novels and this one did not disappoint every bit as suspenseful as a John Grisham book.  This is the first book I’ve read by Robin Parrish and the first present-age religious persecution story I’ve read.  It was well written, moved quickly, and stayed suspenseful until the very end.  I look forward to reading more of this author’s books.

Bethany House Publishers provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.