Jude McManus was devastated when his father was arrested for being a "rogue" cop. Betrayed and unable to fit in his family anymore, the young boy ended up dropping out of high school (despite the promise of college scholarships) and joining the Army. His military stints carried him to El Salvador, where he met a man in executive protection services who convinced him he had what it took to work in that field. Jude specialized in El Salvador because he grew to love the country, despite its faults.
On one of his El Salvador trips, Jude is contacted by his father's old partner, Salvaiso. The man had escaped to El Salvador when Jude's father was arrested, avoiding arrest for his crimes. Unsure what to think, Jude goes to meet Salvaiso and is glad to finally hear a different side to the story. Jude and his father could never talk about what happened and his father died years previously, an apparent suicide.
Salvaiso asks Jude for a favor that will help another member of his father's "gang" and reluctantly, Jude agrees. But the favor turns into a nightmare that challenges Jude and puts his life in danger.
Jude McManus is a fascinating character who pulls you immediately into BLOOD OF PARADISE. The insights into Salvaiso's mind add a new dimension to the book and help to build the tension. As you read, you'll find yourself wondering if anyone is who they say they are. This is an interesting book about a part of the world seldom highlighted. El Salvador is the perfect setting for this convoluted plot.
El Salvador: Americaβs great Cold War success story and the
model for Iraqβs fledgling democracyβif one ignores the
grinding poverty, the corruption, the spiraling crime, and
a murder rate ranked near the top in the hemisphere. This
is where Jude McManus works as an executive protection
specialist, currently assigned to an American engineer
working for a U.S. consortium.
Ten years before, at age seventeen, he saw his father and
two Chicago cop colleagues arrested for robbing street
dealers. The family fell apart in the scandalβs wake, his
disgraced dad died under suspicious circumstances, and Jude
fled Chicago to join the army and forge a new life.
Now the past returns when one of his fatherβs old pals
appears. The man is changedβheβs scarred, regretful, self-
awareβand he helps Jude revisit the past with a forgiving
eye. Then he asks a favorβnot for himself, but for the
third member of his dadβs old crew.
Even though itβs ill-considered, Jude agrees, thinking he
can oblige the request and walk away, unlike his father.
But he underestimates the players and the stakes and he
stumbles into a web of Third World corruption and personal
betrayal where everything he valuesβand everyone he lovesβ
is threatened. And only the greatest of sacrifices will
save them.
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