The Next Target

A Novel

by Nikki Arana

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Pub Date Jun 01 2012 | Archive Date Sep 01 2012

David C. Cook

Description

It only took one bullet. Austia's friend and student fell dead. And with a glimpse of a newspaper headline, the young and recently widowed Austia knows more about what happened than the police. From that fatal night, Austia's secret outreach to the U.S. Muslim community-in the guise of English language classes-becomes a target. Local Muslim extremists set their sights on ending her ministry and even her life. And the women she ministers to will be next.

A thick web of deceit closes in around Austia, and her circle of friends becomes smaller by the day, even as she finally opens herself to the idea of falling in love again. But who can she trust? Facing a spiritual battle that proves more treacherous than it at first seemed, Austia's convictions are tested to their limits and her heart becomes primed for breaking. She must ask herself: how much she will risk to stay true to her herself, her faith, and to the lives of the women she serves?

Author and speaker Nikki Arana has received numerous awards for her writing, including the American Christian Fiction Writers' Book of the Year award and Christianbook.com Top 20 Novel of the Year for The Winds of Sonoma. Through her ministry, A Voice for the Persecuted, she inspires hearts toward evangelizing the Muslim community.

It only took one bullet. Austia's friend and student fell dead. And with a glimpse of a newspaper headline, the young and recently widowed Austia knows more about what happened than the police...

Advance Praise

Award-winning novelist Arana (The Winds of Sonoma) brings her real-life ministry among Muslim women to bear in her newest. When ESL teacher Austia hires a translator, Zaki, to work among Muslim immigrants learning English, she soon suspects he is involved with a plot to kill her because of his ties to a terrorist cell. But Zaki is actually an operative for the FBI infiltrating the cell to bring it down. He's torn between a tough assignment and a precarious cover, and any overt action to keep Austia safe will jeopardize his mission. Arana's vivid imagery is imbued with spiritual force ("The single, avid eye of hell was focused on her every move"), and her pacing is fiercely powerful. The novel raises gripping issues of liberties, religion, and cross-cultural and cross-religious dialogue. Through the eyes of Zaki and Austia, deep religious and moral conviction is examined in real-life situations. Characters are multidimensional as they fight "[f]or truths that were self-evident, for rights endowed by the Creator..." Above all else, Arana treats the interplay of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism compassionately and fairly. Agent: Natasha Kern. (June)
Reviewed on: 04/16/2012

Award-winning novelist Arana (The Winds of Sonoma) brings her real-life ministry among Muslim women to bear in her newest. When ESL teacher Austia hires a translator, Zaki, to work among Muslim...