The Missionary

The Missionary

William Carmichael and David Lambert

Yesterday he was an American missionary serving the poor.  Today he's an international fugitive.

David Eller and his wife, Christie, work to help rescue impoverished children in Caracas, Venezuela.  But for David, that isn't enough.  The supply of homeless children is endless because of massive poverty and the oppressive policies of the Venezuelan government.

When he is given an opportunity to do something more--to heal the disease rather than working on the symptoms--David decides to go for it.  But little by little, he falls into an unimaginable nightmare of espionage, ending in a desperate, life-or-death gamble to flee the country with his wife and son.

My Take:

Imagine if Tom Clancy was assigned the task of writing an ad for the Feed the Children network.  This book, The Missionary, would be the result.  It's an exciting political thriller with a bit of a Christian twist and a hefty dose of guilt that you are sitting in your comfortable air conditioned living room reading about people who gave up their careers and lives to help starving children in Venezuela, instead of helping the kids yourself (though the book isn't preachy, so don't let that deter you)  I really enjoyed the twists and turns as you accompany everyman David Heller as he attempts to negotiate his way around a South American coup.  He is easy to identify with as he quite clumsily tries to do the right thing and gets in way over his head.  The action is fast paced, but not dizzyingly so, and the writing is concise and engaging.  Was The Missionary the most fantastic thriller I ever read?  Nah, but it was a solidly written book, very entertaining and all in all a pretty great way to spend my free time. 

Do you agree with my review?  Do you think I'm totally off base?  Either way I'd love to hear from you, be sure to leave a comment and tell me how you feel!

If The Missionary was a movie, it would likely be rated PG-13 for some violence

***FTC Disclosure:  This book was provided in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was given, all opinions are my own***

If you are interested in purchasing The Missionary, please consider supporting The Book Buff by purchasing from the following Amazon link, thank you!