©2017 Waterbrook
Press, New York
The caveat on the cover of this book reads: “A Crooked Cop,
an Innocent Man, and an Unlikely Journey of Forgiveness and Friendship.” When I
saw the title and the cover of the book, I was intrigued. Since I usually turn
to mysteries or suspense novels (with a western thrown in for good measure) for
my leisure reading, and concentrate on mostly ministerial books as a general
rule for work, I find that the “True Crime” genre rarely catches my attention.
But this one looked like it might be worth a minute or two.
I received the book in the mail about two days before
leaving the country on a personal trip that wouldn’t allow time to read (even
on the plane—which I don’t read well on planes anyway). So, I socked it away
with the hope of getting into it upon my return. I was pleasantly surprised by
my reaction to the book. From the first page of the prologue (don’t skip the
opening “Author’s Note” for background, but the story doesn’t start until the
prologue) I was hooked. I almost wished that I hadn’t read the descriptor on
the cover, though, because from the very outset my reader’s mind was set
against the cop (one of the book’s voices).
The story is exactly as advertised: an innocent man gets
caught in the cross-hairs of a policeman doing whatever he can to put criminals
away—which includes fudging with the truth to a certain extent. After all, in
the neighborhood where he works, most of these people are drug users or dealers
anyway, right? Within these pages you will read the sad state of corruption
that plagues police departments (and is, one must say the exception rather than
the rule). The outcome of the story is that once the cop (Collins) was caught
in his web of deception, he had to come clean with details of all the arrests
he had made that had been compromised by corrupt practices. All of which were
overturned. Meaning that a lot of guilty criminals went free because one dirty
cop wanted to cut a corner or two—in the service of justice.
At the same time the story is about a man just about to
embark on a promising future (especially coming from the neighborhood in which
he lived), who gets caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, by the wrong
policeman, with the wrong friend. It is a case of mistaken identity, misused
power, and misplaced trust. And the result is a three-year federal
incarceration for an innocent man.
The final outcome of the story is not such a depressing
thing though. With all of the ill-will, all of the bad blood, and all of the
system abuse, Convicted is the story
of how God uses unusual circumstances to bring sinners into relationship with
Him. Even more, it is the story of how two men who start out as mortal enemies—and
according to all conventional wisdom should remain so until they reach the
grave (maybe at each other’s hand)—become friends through forgiveness only
available through Christ and knowing Him.
I heartily recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It
has action, suspense, and an unusually unexpected happy ending. It’s in stores
or online today. And read this 5-reading glass treasure about forgiveness.
—Benjamin Potter September 20, 2017
[Disclaimer: I received this book
for free from WaterBrook Multnomah
Publishing Group for this review.]
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