Bush T May16
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Need something<br />
to read?<br />
Saving Sophie by Ronald Balson<br />
Balson’s first novel “Once We Were<br />
Brothers” was an international success.<br />
This novel opens in Chicago where we meet<br />
Jack Sommers . He is leaving in a hurry. Up<br />
until a year ago his life was idyllic. He had<br />
a good job as an attorney in a prestigious<br />
legal company was married to a beautiful<br />
Palestinian woman, Alina and they had a<br />
sweet little girl called Sophie. After visiting<br />
her sick mother in Hebron she returns to<br />
America and dies within in a few days of a<br />
mysterious illness. After a bitter custody<br />
battle, Jack is awarded custody and her<br />
Grandparents are awarded weekend visiting<br />
rights. However on one of their visits Sophie<br />
is kidnapped by her grandparents and taken<br />
to Palestine. Jack is desperate to get her<br />
back and becomes involved in a scheme to<br />
embezzle a client out of 88 million dollars.<br />
PI Liam Taggart and fiancée lawyer Catherine<br />
Lockhart are called in to investigate the<br />
embezzlement which is complicated by<br />
child kidnapping and terrorist activity in<br />
Hebron. The FBI agents, Jeff Miller and Kayla<br />
Cummings believe the missing money could<br />
be funding an extremist group led by Alina’s<br />
father Dr Arif al – Zahani. They set out to<br />
thwart a major terrorist attack<br />
Balson’s research is extensive and a highly<br />
accurate account of the conflict of Jewish,<br />
Muslim and Christian ideals. This is the<br />
backbone of the story and shows how<br />
centuries of discord have not resolved these<br />
difference. There is a wealth of information<br />
about the history of Palestine and Israel and<br />
the fragile peace that exists in the region<br />
We read about the lengths a father will go<br />
through to protect his daughter alongside<br />
the religious and political persecution of<br />
a nation caught in a civil war. Besides this<br />
there is a love interest, jealousy and all the<br />
ingredients of a page turner.<br />
The personalities are well defined and the<br />
reader develops likes and dislikes of each<br />
character, however the most endearing<br />
character is Sophie who is brave, strong and<br />
shows and undying belief that her Daddy will<br />
always be there for her.<br />
Review by Annece Winton<br />
34
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