Betrayed
by J. M. Windle
Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 2008, 365 pp., tradepaper.

Betrayed digs into the shadowy world of Central American policy as the CIA, drug lords and missionaries clash in a world of murder and deceit.

Vicki Andrews finds her dying sister Holly in a Guatemalan city dump and sets out to solve her murder. Her questions immediately put her own life in danger; Betrayed keeps us guessing who might prove to be a true friend and who might betray Vicki. Along the way, she stumbles onto information about her own shadowy past as an orphan born in Guatemala.

Author Jennifer Windle grew up in Central America, and writes with great believability. However, I do think she simplifies the political situation at times, like when she dismisses the U.S. support of the Shah, the Nicaraguan contras and others by saying, "there never was any outside enemy on the receiving end. Just local peasants and democratic opposition" (241).

Apparently Windle totally overlooked the Marxist Sandinistas of Daniel Ortega. She should interview a few Nicaraguan Miskito Indians before her next book to learn about the atrocities committed by Ortega's thugs.

Nonetheless, Betrayed is an enjoyable read and opens a window into third world oppression and corruption, contrasting it with the beauty of those willing to sacrifice for what is truly good.

Visit Jeanette Windle.

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