CrossFire by Jeanette Windle

CrossFire by Jeanette Windle ISBN-13: 9780825441431 Paperback: 617 pages Publisher: Kregel Publications Released: Aug. 26, 2009

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Following a whirlwind romance and impromptu wedding, Sara is whisked off to her husband's palatial family estate in Bolivia. Cultural differences and family adjustments are no match for her fierce love for Nicolas. But Sara soon opens a Pandora's box of questions surrounding the Cortez family's billion-dollar business, becoming ensnared in a deadly clash between her new family, a drug cartel, and the DEA.


My Review:
CrossFire is a Christian suspense novel. The first third of the book was setting everything up: a young gal longing for a loving family (since hers has died) has a whirlwind romance and marries a man from Bolivia. They return to his home, and she's shocked to realize how rich his family is. She accepts the lies that he tells her about his family because she wants it to be true, but soon she realizes that the family business is being used to smuggle cocaine into other countries. Through an English-speaking missionary church, she knows a DEA agent who has offered to help her if she ever needs it.

By about halfway through, she really, really needs help. She's gotten on the wrong side of powerful people determined to contain any damage she might do to them. She's brave, has integrity, and can think on her feet when she has to, so she manages to stay alive despite everything. The DEA agent is a kind and determined fellow who helps as much as he can.

The story is exciting and suspenseful, but I think I would have liked it better if it was a little shorter. We learn a lot about Bolivia and the drug situation there, and these details are what I like about this author's books. However, even right in the middle of suspenseful situations, we get these long lectures about things like what each character thinks about cocaine and how they justify their actions. A lot of this was repetitive, so it didn't add to my understanding of the situation and slowed the scenes.

Sara feels like God is a remote, uncaring deity to allow so much suffering to happen to her family. By the end, she can see how God has been using events to bring about a positive end and has a stronger sense that God personally cares about her. There was no sex scenes or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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