I knew that when I was in the mood for a suspenseful book that Ronie Kendig would not disappoint. In a very dangerous part of Afghanistan, Dean is running military missions while Zahrah is doing mission work of another kind- education. Some of the military speak was over my head, but I was able to understand enough to get the gist of the politics that were going on behind the scenes. Zahrah has strong faith that she is doing God's will, even when horrible things happen. Dean is more skeptical, but is profoundly impacted by Zahrah. The book begins with Dean being released from captivity, and then the story backpedals to previous months, so it's not a spoiler to share that their experiences there were more grim than I anticipated, and I would have appreciated a trigger warning for rape. I think this book was published before trigger warnings became popular in reviews and even book descriptions from the author or publisher. Although the scene and Dean's memories of a different rape were not explicit, they were descriptive enough to turn my stomach and make me regret reading the book. I totally get that it is a reality of war and not inappropriate for the author to include in the story for authenticity, but I avoid books that I anticipate will include the content for my own mental wellness.

Disclosure statement: A complimentary copy of this book was provided. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.

Nearly ten years ago I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley, but it became impossible for me to read ebooks due to vision issues. Fast forward a decade and I've finally gotten my hands on a print copy so here is my review. :-)

Whoa!!! Intense, high-stakes intrigue. Complex characters. Edge-of-your-seat suspense. The kind of action you'd expect of find in a military thriller which kept my spidey senses on high alert the entire read. So many layers to both the story and the characters. Loved the banter and camaraderie among the Raptor team and Zahrah's gentle determination to follow God's calling on her life. I was sooooo terrified for her! Kendig's pacing and word choice is perfect for setting the scene and creating the atmosphere of danger and foreboding....and then, that epilogue! Yikes, talk about an ominous cliffhanger!!!!

Sorry, never got around to reading. Will try again at a later date.