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: America’s great Cold War success story and the
model for Iraq’s fledgling democracy–if 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 scandal’s 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 father’s old pals
appears. The man is changed–he’s scarred, regretful, self-
aware–and he helps Jude revisit the past with a forgiving
eye. Then he asks a favor–not for himself, but for the
third member of his dad’s old crew.
Even though it’s 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 values–and everyone he loves–
is threatened. And only the greatest of sacrifices will
save them.
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