Fatal Illusions Book Review

A disillusioned counselee, Stacey James, shot Pastor Marc Thayer in his Chicago home, leaving him for dead and implying an affair. Media deluge forces the wounded pastor and his family on sabbatical, sending them to a remote, historic lighthouse on the coast of Lake Superior. When Stacey is found strangled on their Michigan property, Marc is the prime suspect.

Several convenient coincidences pull detective Chuck Riley out of retirement. Back on the case, he unravels ties of this murder to a string of deaths in the Cincinnati Magician Murders. Are the events mere happenstance, or are they God’s providence?

Interwoven throughout Adam Blumer’s debut novel, Fatal Illusions (Kregel, 2009), is a story of forgiveness, letting go, and following God’s lead. Marc Thayer unshackles himself from his mega-church ministry and embraces the small community. His wife, Gillian, begins to accept the loss of her newborn twins while liberating herself of unfounded guilt and learning to trust her husband again. Even the antagonist approaches catharsis.

My only disappointment with this otherwise well-written and suspenseful novel is that the “real” story doesn’t begin until about a third of the way through the book. The author devoted a lot of time on setup in the early chapters, and I found it difficult to sort out the numerous characters and viewpoints in the beginning. However, I was duly rewarded for my persistence.

I enjoyed Fatal Illusions, but I don’t recommend reading it while sitting in a dark house alone at night!