The Best of Everything

October 27, 2008
Roby’s disappointing sixth entry in her Rev. Curtis Black series (after 2008’s Sin No More
) focuses on Alicia Black Sullivan, his beautiful and spoiled 22-year-old daughter. Accustomed to getting anything she wants, Alicia shops like daddy still picks up the tab. This is a source of endless agitation for her new husband, young pastor Phillip Sullivan, a genuinely good man. Though he tries to set limits, Alicia stubbornly plows forward, and her self-centered ways result in deceit, infidelity and, finally, divorce. Unsurprisingly, Alicia learns nothing from her tragedy except that she should strive to marry a wealthier man. Roby’s message of Christian forgiveness, a common theme in her work, doesn’t succeed here: characters tolerate situations until they become untenable and then walk away. Alicia’s selfish behavior is alienating, and her unwillingness or inability to learn from her mistakes leaves readers wondering why they should care at all.