Political Intrigue

James Holt, a rancher from Dakota, is summons to the American Zone of the Panama Canal in 1909 in Sigmund Brouwer's latest historical novel, Saffire. This novel is part mystery, part political intrigue, and romance all in the historical setting of Panama. James Holt's dry humor and Inspector Miskimon, who is quite orderly, provide interesting conversations throughout the novel as Holt tries to unravel the mysterious disappearance of a young girl's mother. Saffire is close in age to his own daughter and her spunkiness at finding her mother endears her to him. But as he begins to ask questions he realizes there is more going on below the surface than a missing woman. This book started out slowly and I almost stopped reading it, however, the more I kept going, the more drawn into the story I became. Brouwer uses actual historical figures and places in this novel making for an interesting read. I received this book for free to review from WaterBrook's Blogging for Books.