How can it be that I've never heard of Jeanette Windle? This is a terrific story with just the right amount of everything - romance, suspense, God. Sara is swept off her feet in a whirlwind romance with a gorgeous Bolivian college student who is wrapping up his studies in the United States. They marry after only a month of dating and after a short honeymoon head to Bolivia and his home. She is stunned to find that his family is very wealthy and slowly begins to realize how they are making their money. I loved Nicolas and wish his part in the story had been written differently. He is an immature and spoiled young man who is trying to find his way, and the final scenes involving him show complexity and change in his character. The prospect of a new relationship for Sara was not appropriate to the story. So much detail is provided as to Bolivian society and the drug wars - very interesting. It's a long book, but never boring. Will definitely look for more from this author.

I really liked this book, it exceeded my expectations and I would recommend it to others. Yes, the female lead is very naive, blind to the reality that the husband she is devoted to is a stranger she knows nothing about. However, I don't think that is that unusual in an insecure young woman. I was interested in the author's information about the drug trade, the DEA in South America, Bolivian culture, cocaine culture, etc. I found the "high-society" Bolivian's attitudes toward the poor very believable, the country seemed to have a definite seperation of "classes". I didn't think that the portrayal of the "Catholic" characters was inaccurate, because I didn't think that the author portrayed them as Catholic. They were portrayed as people who thought they were Catholic, but none of them actually were. As another reviewer stated, it would have been nice to have a well developed character that was a faithful Catholic. I especially liked the female lead's spiritual journey to faith in the love and goodness of God. There were a few instances where I was jarred out of my absorption in the story, for example when a warehouse was described as huge, over an acre, which isn't that large. I was disturbed a little bit by the developing relationship of the female lead and the DEA Agent, but it was more of a friendship on the part of the woman, and until she is in danger, she doesn't spend any significant time with the Agent. Overall, I was absorbed in the book, and loved how long it was. When it appeared that the story was wrapping up, I was disappointed until I noticed how much of the book there was still to read, then I was excited. Good book for women or men.

It is rare indeed for me to have a Christian fiction book that is difficult to put down. The last few nights have been way too late as I've gone for "just until the end of this scene" and then carried on to the next.

While at college, Sarah, the naïve young heroine falls head over heels for the handsome, smooth-talking, Nicky. She has no family, and is desperate for love. After a whirl-wind romance, of which we read very little, she marries Nicky, and he whisks her off to a new life in Bolivia. Only after the plane lands does she start to suspect all is not as ideal as she first anticipated. She faces a devastating twist to her dream life and desperately hangs onto belief in her husband's innocence. The tension grows as she struggles with her relationships with Nicky, her new family, and a growing awareness of the horrors of the Bolivian drug culture. She initially loathes Douglas Bradford, the DEA agent responsible for trying to bring the Cortez family and their business to their knees. However as the story develops, she soon finds herself fleeing for her life, pursued by a formidable group of enemies, and the only one to whom she can turn is the DEA agent.

There are a number of lengthy explanations of the Christian faith, as seen through the eyes of both Sarah and Doug, and I feel at times they are too long. Having said that, at no point did I want to skip the passages, as Sarah grapples to see God in the impossible situation she faces. Sarah asks a lot of questions many of the readers will ask.

Jeanette Windle's research has been tremendous. She displays a clear knowledge of the Bolivian drug industry, as well as the way of life of both the incredibly rich, and the desperately poor. It is a long book, and at what appeared to be the climax of the story, I noticed with disappointment that I was only half-way through the book. I thought the second half would surely be drawn out and a let down from the excitement of the first half. I couldn't have been more wrong. The tension escalated, and although some of the scenes were long, they kept me reading right until the final resolution.

Well done, Jeannette. I will definitely be looking for more of your books. I have rated this five stars, based on Amazon's explanation of the star rating: An excellent read.

Sarah Connor and Doug Bradford are in Bolivia for different reasons. Sara arrived as a starry-eyed young bride starting her new life with her Latino prince charming Nicolas Cortez. Doug Bradford fills his days as a DEA agent squelching drug traffickers at every turn. When Sara's world starts spinning out of control she turns to Doug for help. Jeanette Windle introduces American readers to Bolivian culture and mores of both the very wealthy and those caught in poverty. She crafts a great story of intrigue in the midst of a society that often looks the other way in order to gain wealth. This well-written book kept me engaged in the story most of the time. I must admit those few times when the lengthy, detailed descriptions of drug labs and such bogged me down. I found myself skimming those sections in order to get back into the action of the story.
The subtle references to faith are well-crafted so the unbeliever would not close the book. Sara's discovery that her ideas about God were wrong come out naturally as the plot develops. Jeannette's research and character development makes this book a top-quality read.