Benefit of the Doubt

Excellent book. Great main characters and plot. I would recommend this book.

David Hidalgo is the part-time pastor of a church in Edinburgh and also teaches conversational Spanish.  With a mixed spanish/scottish parentage David is fluent in the language and for the past thirty years lived in Spain however his outspoken ministry in which drugs users were helped made him enemies with the South American cartel in Madrid and this led to the death of his wife and his escape back to Edinburgh.  When the 15-year old granddaughter of one of his worshippers goes missing, apparently living with a local drug dealer, David is pulled back into danger.  Little does he realise that although he thought he's escaped, he's back influencing the same cartel.

This is not a terrible book, the ideas are sound and there is an interesting story about Colombian drugs dealers moving across Europe.  The problem is that it is a little too far-fetched to truly engage.  The reader is asked to suspend disbelief a lot and if this was a complete fantasy thriller that would be fine but essentially the book purports to be a fairly standard crime thriller and as such it is too much.  A little more severe editing would definitely help.

Benefit of the doubt by les cowan.
David Hidalgo, a bilingual Scot, and pastor of an independent church in Madrid, is doing what he can to pick up the threads of his life and ministry after his wife is murdered by drug dealers objecting to the local impact of the growing church.
 Back in Edinburgh he finds friendship, disturbing and unlooked for romance, and then mortal danger as the same drug barons invade his territory once more. When a young girl is abducted, David knows he must set aside his doubts and act... whatever this might cost him.
Good but slow read. Managed to read it just took my time. 3*. Netgalley and lion hudson ip limited.