CrossFire: A Novel [Paperback]

Jeanette Windle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2000

Explosive fiction of a young woman whose marriage into a prominent South American family draws her deep into a world filled with danger, intrigue, and confrontation with the U. S. DEA. Guaranteed fiction!

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Sara Conner's Prince Charming, Nicolas Cortez, rescues her from a mugging and proceeds to sweep her off her feet in a whirlwind courtship and marriage. Then he takes her with him to Bolivia, where he puts his business degree to use in the family business. Sara had no idea the Cortezes were filthy rich until they arrive at the family compound. And she has no idea exactly how filthy the Cortez money really is. Sara's na?vete is stripped away as she realizes the family's connection to cocaine smuggling, and she learns that she is disposable if she gets too nosy. In her struggle to reconcile a loving husband with the horrors of his actions, she turns to God for spiritual answers and to a DEA agent to save her life. Despite the use of an unbelievably innocent protagonist, Windle captures the essence of Bolivian society, caught between "easy" money and the desperation of a poverty-stricken economy. Sally John's To Dream Again (reviewed on p. 106) offers a similar story with a more sympathetic heroine. For comprehensive collections only.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A highly credible account of the DEA's foreign ops." -- Fred Duncan, retired DEA agent

"Action-packed thriller . . . Windle's treatment of the Drug Enforcement Agency's fight against drugs in Bolivia is impressive. Recommend to readers who enjoy fast-paced novels with international settings." -- CBA Marketplace, (c) CBA Marketplace, Official Publication of CBA. Reprinted by permission.

"I was impressed with [Windle's] knowledge of DEA techniques. Windle's plot and treatment of characters is first-rate and CrossFire is a very interesting read ." -- Jerry Weeks, Sheriff of Pend Oreille County Washington

"Jeanette has done an incredible job of transporting her readers to the teeming cities and steaming jungles of Bolivia, evoking character and atmosphere so vivdly that I feel like I have been there." -- Marion Stroud, author and European trustee of Media Associates International

A highly credible account of the DEA's foreign ops. -- Fred Duncan, retired DEA agent

An unputdownable read with a serious message. -- Marion Stroud, author and European truste of Media Associates International

Windle's treatment of the Drug Enforcement Agency's fight against drugs in Bolivia is impressive. -- Joseph Bentz, review for Marketplace, official magazine of CBA, July 2000

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Kregel Publications (July 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0825441161
• ISBN-13: 978-0825441165
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,649,252 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As the child of missionary parents, award-winning author and journalist Jeanette Windle grew up in the rural villages, jungles, and mountains of Colombia, now guerrilla hot zones. Her detailed research and writing is so realistic that it has prompted government agencies to question her to determine if she has received classified information. Curently based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Jeanette has lived in six countries and traveled in more than thirty. She has more than fifteen books in print, including political/suspense best seller CrossFire and 2010 CBA Award finalist and Christy Award finalist Veiled Freedom.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unparalleled Excellence, June 18, 2003

By 

Kelli Standish "Editor, FocusonFiction.net" (Corpus Christi, TX, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: CrossFire: A Novel (Paperback)

It is no coincidence that so many reviewers of this book give it a five star rating. After reading literally thousands of fiction books, it is fair to say I am tough to impress. But Jeanette Windle has done so, and done so with a style and flair that assures 'Crossfire' a permanent place in my library and on my highest recommendations list.
Her research is impeccable. Her characters believable. Her plot and subplots faultless.
You open the first page and suddenly, you're there- surrounded by the cries of foreign birds, angry men and a endearing heroine. Each page draws you further into the tension and the complexity that is the South American drug trade. And then you begin to understand. Not just one side, but all side's emotions as they face off over the age-old moral question: Am I my brother's keeper?
And the hours Windle must have put into the creation of this 600 page masterpiece! It boggles the mind.
After finishing 'Crossfire', I have only two regrets.
One is that she chose a smaller publishing house for this excellent work. A publisher like Tyndale or Bethany House could have given her the advertising and promotion budget she deserved and expanded her reader volume to a level worthy of her skill.
The second is that even at 600 pages it seemed over too soon. I was so delighted with the ending that I re-read it three times. Rarely have I seen a writer end a book in such a powerful, absolutely satisfying manner.

'Crossfire' is, without question, a must read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read!, April 12, 2002

By 

Aleshia (OK United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: CrossFire: A Novel (Paperback)

If you like action and adventure laced with romance and a wondeful christian theme, then this book is a MUST READ! The characters are very believable, and the plot extremely gripping.
Sarah is a christian, though she's become luke-warm over the years. In college she meets the amazing Nicky, and falls head over heals in love. They marry and he wisks her away to his family estate in Bolivia where Sarah's met with one shocking revelation after another. She soon realizes how little she knows about her husband. Her plans of a romanic, wealthy life with Nicky are devasted when she discovers that the family is secretly dealing cocaine to remain the extremely wealthy, upper class citizens they are. Sarah has some major, life altering decisions to make. Can she bring herself to uncover this major drug operation, putting her new marriage on the line? Is her husband's enemy, Doug Bradford, DEA Agent, the terrible man her husband paints him out to be, or is he really the trustworthy, christan man he appears?
This book is amazing, and packed out with great action scenes, and shocking plot twists. Jeannette Windle has an amazing way of bringing you right into the book. You feel as if you are experiencing everything Sarah does. The scenes are powerful and very believable. I highly, highly recommend this book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good--but..., June 26, 2007

By 

world reader - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: CrossFire: A Novel (Paperback)

OK--I really enjoyed this book simply because I have lived in Latin America for many years. For the reviewer who was upset about the portrayal of the Catholic church--well let's just say that the Catholic Church as it is represented in South America is just like this. It is not the Catholic church that American's know. Sorry--but it is true and not just bias on her part.

The only real problem I had with the book was just how "naive" Sara was. Yes--men can be charming and sweep you off your feet, etc. etc., but there comes a time during this book where you just want to reach in and grab her and say "Wake Up! This guy is NOT Prince Charming!"

The details were precise--which if you are familiar with the territory makes this book interesting, if you aren't then you probably get bogged down and want to skip a few pages now and then.

All in all, good but a bit long.