Into the Fire

The Keeper by Charles Martin is the fourth installment of A Murphy Shepherd Novel Series. 

Reviewing a Charles Martin novel is always difficult because I want to begin with superlatives, high praise and recommendations, and all the rest of it which makes me sound like a typical fan-girl raving about a favorite author. While I'm not disputing the prior claims, I will take exception to the "typical" reader status – which is certainly not a slam to any "typical" readers. I take exception to the term(s) because I'm an author of love stories. And, believe it or not, I'm a very picky reader about everything I read and like and review. As those of you who know me have seen me write ad nauseum, I only read a very few romance novelists – because most romance novelists don't necessarily write love stories. And because Charles Martin (aka David Bishop in this series – just kidding) writes the most insightful and unusual love stories, he is in my top five all-time favorite novelists. 

So. In Book 4, it begins with the extreme loss and mourning of Murphy ("Murph" aka David Bishop) Shepherd's mentor "Bones" (aka Ezekiel Walker). The one who taught him everything he knows about toughness, skills, rescuing those who've been stolen and trafficked, and delivering them back to their crushed families or to the "city" in the Rockies they've built to honor and heal their lives called "Freetown." Murph is devastated with no end in sight until he absolutely has to pull it together for another critical rescue of three young girls who belong to someone who is not only a special and longtime friend, but he is also the Vice President of the USA. 

A young former Spec-ops man ("Camp") who looks at Murph as his mentor – an uncomfortable designation for Murph – readies their small team for this daunting job. They have the unlimited videos provided by the VP's home but somehow the team that snatched the girls knew it all and were able to pull it off, leaving 9 dead Secret Service men plus the girls' guardian dogs dead.

The problem is that this has been such a sophisticated capture, it has left very little to discover. Not only that but when Murph receives a call from a specific Senator about unlimited resources available for their help, it strikes a strange chord with Murph, Camp, and the rest of the team listening on speaker phone.

Time is the major factor in reported needs for rescue. This rescue has left the team with virtually nothing to go on. A quick trip to Israel helps in one way but ultimately provides very little other than the offer of unlimited aid if anything develops. 

As with every Charles Martin novel, the layered, deeply investigative plot and subplots wind their ways around the subject of love – and of evil: of how to face, handle, disrupt, crush, and live another day to do the same again. The victories come with consequences, some with joy and others with horrific, long-lasting scars. 

Now some more superlatives: Charles Martin is an exquisite master of words, writing beautifully captured metaphors, images, and descriptions, characters that speak to you in familiar ways causing you to identify with them and those who repulse you in their depravity, plus authentic, well-researched information with weaponry enthusiasts will absolutely love. For those of us who write, it's positively inspirational to read one of his novels. I love this series and if any one of my references here move you to read these books or any of his others, I contend you won't be disappointed. 

Highly Recommended

Father, you know Charles' emotional makeup. You created it for him to use for your glory. Please continue to bless him with the stories you have just for him to tell. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.