Fires smolder endlessly below the dangerous surface of Guatemala City’s municipal dump. Deadlier fires seethe 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—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 search 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.
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Praise for Betrayed by Jeanette Windle:
"But above all, Betrayed is an examination of compassion as well as cruelty, corruption as well as sacrifice."
Bookworm Review 9.08
*
"Windle beautifully intertwines faith throughout the book as Vicki struggles with her past, with her fears and with her God."
Baptist Life 3.08
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"Life, death, and innocence lost, Betrayed is a must read for globally-minded believers."
BuddyHollywood 3.08
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"This very talented writer has written a suspenseful, thrilling story that very naturally incorporates some of the most powerful lessons of faith I’ve encountered in fiction in some time!"
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance 2.08
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"Betrayed is an intense, interesting story that exposes some of the harsh realities in the world beyond the borders of the United States. The background information is thick and may be difficult to grasp at some points, but is easy to pick up once the story gets moving. Fans of mysteries and international thrillers will greatly enjoy this book."
Christian Book Previews 8.08
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"Betrayed reveals the U.S. involvement in Guatemala in the last few decades, how the decisions of few in powerful positions can and do change the lives on millions, affect the balance of power between nations, and alter the course of history."
Christian Review of Books 4.08
*
"Jeanette’s use of her vast personal experience and detailed research, as well as the fact that another intelligence person said her ‘mind thinks like a terrorist,’ adds a great deal of gritty realism to her novels. Her locales, scenes and dialogue ring true because she’s experienced a lot of it firsthand."
Church Libraries Spring 2008
*
"Betrayed" is the latest in a long line of award winning novels by J.M. Windle that will leave you breathless with the suspense and amazed at the painstaking detail. In fact, I've heard it said that her novels ring with such authenticity that she's been questioned by authorities on just how she gains her knowledge!
Deenas Books 2.08
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"BETRAYED is an exhilarating thriller that shows how people in power who are corrupt can make an entire nation fear and obey them in order to avoid death and torture."
Harriet Klausner 4.08
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"A gratifying twist toward the end will ensure that readers make it to the final pages."
PW 1.08
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"Detail and intrigue make this story a page-turner...The details are so exact, these same agencies thought the author was privy to classified material."
In the Library Reviews 4.08
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"Windle, who grew up in Colombia as the child of missionary parents, incorporates realistic details involving Guatemala’s politics and stark social conditions into her engrossing story, which will attract readers who enjoy international suspense thrillers."
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