Not quite a roman a clef, since it is completely fictional, THE AMBITION is written in a similar vein as Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities. Lee Strobel's debut novel, THE AMBITION, is about the intersections of faith, politics, media, and the justice system. Who is driving whom? Who is right and fair? Who is corrupt, greedy and uncaring? The answers are not as simplistic nor as easy to discern as one might think.

Strobel intended, I think, for readers to consider the role and responsibility of churches, especially megachurches, whether the media is making or reporting their stories, whether the U.S. justice system is indeed just and can be trusted. The action is fast-paced, the characters equal parts well-intentioned and misguided, and the ending unsuspecting. I enjoyed how the multiple storylines converged to a final conclusion. Some readers might take issue with a few of the plot threads being left dangling at the end, with only a hint of what might transpire after the story ends, but the decision to tell the story in this manner only adds to making readers think, as Strobel wants.

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