J.M. Windle's Betrayed ~ Reviewed

BETRAYED

By J. M. Windle

Published by: Tyndale House Publishing, Inc.

ISBN#978-1-4143-14-7

Pages 365

Back Cover:

Fires smolder endlessly blow the dangerous surface of Guatemala City’s municipal dump. Deadlier fires see the beneath the tenuous calm of a nation recovering from brutal civil war. Anthropologist Vicki Andrews is researching Guatemala’s “garbage people” when she stumbles across a human body. Curiosity turns to horror as she uncovers no stranger, but an American environmentalist and Vicki’s only sister, Holly.

With authorities dismissing the death as another street crime, Vicki begins tracing Holly’s last steps, a pilgrimage leading from slum squalor to the breathtaking and endangered cloud forests of the Sierra de las Minas biosphere. But every unraveled thread raises more questions. What betrayal connects Holly’s murder, the recent massacre of a Mayan village and the long-ago deaths of Vicki’s own parents?

Nor is Vicki the only one demanding answers. Before her pilgrimage reaches its startling end, the conflagration has spilled across international borders to threaten an American administration and the current war on terror. With no one turning out to be who they’d seemed, who can Vicki trust and who should she fear?

A politically relevant tale of international intrigue and God’s redemptive beauty and hope.

REVIEW:

Jeanette gives you quite an insightful view of Guatemala City’s internal government structure and how life works for them over there. She weaves quite a suspenseful story that involves many big players such as the CIA, Guatemalan police and the American Embassy to name just a few. Who are the good guys? Is there a bad guy? If so who? Who killed Vicki’s sister Holly? Where? Why? Vicki needed the answers to these questions.

Vicki didn’t know who to trust – she suspects everyone is corrupt – the rules are so different in Guatemala City. Vicki soon realizes that being an “American Citizen” means nothing in Guatemala. The longer Vicki stays in this country she sees firsthand how no one has any rights, villages are raided, people tortured and killed no police are called to help the victims, nothing is done about any of these events it’s just chalked up to “street crime”. Vicki soon discovers that she is in the heart of a Guerilla warfare area and there is a secret about the Sierra de las Mines Biosphere!! What was it? And why was this a area restricted? Vicki couldn’t stand it any longer she had to do something. This was just not right. Her sister along with others had been murdered. She would get to the bottom of this matter or die trying. Who can she turn to? She wants justice for all; but How???

In the middle of her dilemma Vicki comes to the realization that this life isn’t our real destination or real home. “In fact, it’s just the start. More like boot camp, you might say from the point of view of eternity…After all, we were never called to save the whole world, just our part!”. I say Amen to that!!

I also loved it when Vicki says this prayer in the middle of craziness that went like this “God, I can’t run your universe or fix it all. Forgive me for being arrogant enough to even think it’s my job. All you call me to do is my part… Do what is right and do not give way to fear.” It’s a powerful message – a powerful book!!!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent