Brannon Calahan (a female search-and-rescue helicopter pilot) finds herself drawn into a dangerous attempt to uncover a child trafficking ring when U.S. Marshal Roark Holland’s helicopter crashes in her area while transporting a donor heart to a government witness whose survival is vital to the government’s case.

Divided almost neatly into two main segments, the first portion of this novel deals with Roark and Brannon’s struggle to survive and deliver the donor heart safely after the helicopter crash, while the second delves more deeply into the intrigues behind the child-trafficking ring and their ongoing attempts to uncover it from beneath the layers of secrecy surrounding it.

Brannon is a woman of strong faith (who is also somewhat bull-headed), Roark on the other hand is a man who feels he’s been burned by God, but when confronted with Brannon’s own difficult past, and views her strong character, he’s in turn driven to re-examine his own beliefs as he is drawn nearer to her.

Interspersed with Brannon and Roark’s adventures are the heart-breaking experiences of the young girls who’ve been led astray and forced to work in the ring of brothels operated by the child-traffickers. These passages manage to convey the horror and unwillingness these girls experience as well as the breaking of their spirits without unduly explicit writing. Still, these interludes were difficult to read, and are meant to be.

Caroll kept me reading through this brisk-paced suspense novel, though its conclusion seemed somewhat predictable after a certain point. Fans of the genre will no doubt enjoy this solidly written title and the romantic interplay between its two strong-willed characters while having their awareness raised about the horrors that surround us.

Reviewed at quiverfullfamily.com