"snapshot" by lis wiehl

About the book (from the publisher): Two little girls, frozen in black and white. One picture worth killing for.

Federal prosecutor Lisa Waldren’s estranged father wants her to investigate a cold case from his FBI days. Lisa nearly refuses, even though a wrongly convicted man faces execution for murder. Then her father reveals a photograph: a little white girl playing alongside a little black girl at a rally in 1965 where the shooting of a civil rights leader took place. She recognizes herself in the photo.

She was there.

Lisa agrees to help, resolved to boldly seek answers she’s skirted for decades. What she discovers are layers of deception, both personal and professional, reaching as high as the head of the FBI. Possibly even the president.

And though Lisa and the other girl may have escaped the 1965 shooting physically unharmed, her little friend, now grown, bears the scars of it. All because of the color of her skin. As Lisa and her father get closer to the truth, the real killer turns the hunt around.

My take: Snapshot is a fast-paced mystery that takes the reader through several twists and turns before ultimately being resolved. It's written well, and the story is very compelling as it examines race relations in the 1960's and today.

I enjoyed Snapshot very much, even though it never quite reached the I can't put this book down until I know how it ends stage for me. As for what kept it from being a 5-star book, I'd say that sometimes the author told rather than showed what she wanted to get across. (An example of this is Lisa's relationship with Molly, the other girl in the picture. The two don't really connect at first, but the reader only knows this because the author spells it out in the narration—when the two actually interact, there is no indication of an awkward relationship.) There are also several sexual references in the novel—nothing explicit, but still more than you'd find in most Christian fiction.

I've read and enjoyed several of Lis Wiehl's other novels, and, while Snapshot wasn't as intriguing to me as some of her other work, it was still good. I look forward to reading what Wiehl writes next!

My rating: 4 stars

Buy the book.
Read my reviews of Wiehl's Waking Hours & Darkness Rising (written with Pete Nelson) and Hand of Fate, Heart of Ice, & Eyes of Justice (written with April Henry).

About the author: Lis Wiehl is a New York Times best-selling author, Harvard Law School graduate, and former federal prosecutor. A popular legal analyst and commentator for the Fox News Channel, Wiehl appears on The O'Reilly Factor and was co-host will Bill O'Reilly on the radio for seven years.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."