J. M. Windle

Dear Readers,

Freedom's Stand by J.M. Windle is the sequel to Veiled Freedom.  Amy is back in Kabul after a short vacation.  The changes to New hope are shocking not at all what she had invisioned for the woman's compound. There is now a carpet making business and the children are even working.  The dividing walls are gone and the men have the run of the ground level, making the woman have to hide upstairs at all times.  No freedom to be in the court yard and relax.  What happen?

Steve returns to Kabul to help our a friend. The friend had a family emergency and needed to return to the states, so Steve said he would be glad to help him out.  Nothing has changed for him.  The is still corruption on every level.  With the elections coming soon the dangers to the man they are protecting get worse and worse.  Especially since he is the front runner to winning the election.

I have loved both of these books, but they have both frustrated me to no end.  I just become very frustrated with people that are saying one thing and acting completely different.  How can you say you are someone who supports freedom for the people, but still abuse your family?  How can you say you support religous freedom and yet inprision or kill anyone of a different faith from yourself.  Being the leader isn't the right to make everyone believe as you do, but it is the command to take care of those under you, whether they believe the same as you or not.

I have a feeling if I would actually go to visit one of the Islamic countries I would be in trouble in about 15 minutes as I could not wear a burka and I have a strange feeling that I also would get in trouble for being to out spoken.   Their laws really don't make sense as I feel that most of them blame the victims instead of the person who commits the crimes.  Unless the victim is a wealthy land owner, then of course the punishment must be dealt out. 

Ok Ok I will get off my soapbox and just review the book, I strongly encourage you to read these books as it will give you an idea of how to pray for the belivers in countries that are run by Sharia law. 

Happy Reading

J.M. Windle

Dear Readers,

I love that J.M. Windle's books don't end with all happily ever after. Veiled Freedom ends well, just not everyone is "saved" by the end. It is the type of book that I have come to expect from her and she hasn't disappointed with this one. I really thought the main character was going to be returning to Afghanistan, ex-special Forces veteran, Steve Wilson. Yes he has a very large part of this story, but the main character is really Amy Mallory and the woman she is there to help.

When Steve returns to Afghanistan after being gone 8 years he is shocked at how close to the Taliban rule everything has become again. Where is the freedom he fought so hard for? Why are the burqas back in force? Was it even worth the lose of human life that he witnessed? He has been hired to protect the new Minister of Interior and he will do that and do it well. He is not excited to be back, but the job pays well and he can do his job without getting involved with the people again.

Amy comes to Afghanistan for the first time. It was her dream a long time ago to come when America liberated the country form the Taliban. She finally has her chance, but it isn't at all what she expected. When she is meet at the airport by her driver, he refuses to take her in his car until she puts a burqa on. She finds the man she is replacing leaving in an hour, so a crash course in store for her as to how things are run. She has little or no training from the organization that sent her and she doesn't even know that she isn't safe staying in the building that houses her non-profit group.

Two very different people in country for two very different reasons. Put together because the foreigners always stick together and I am sure Steve couldn't stand to see a pretty girl get in trouble.

This book is a very candid look at life in Afghanistan with the new democracy. It is not what we think of as freedom. They have the freedom to follow Islamic law. They have the freedom to have the mullahs tell them right from wrong. They still have the freedom to follow traditions set thousands of years ago. To me none of them seemed like true freedom. I know after reading this book, one of the best things for me to do is not go to an Islamic law-run country. I am not sure I wouldn't be thrown out very quickly.

But this book is well worth the read and it is interesting to see that the way of thinking over there hasn't changed, and I am not sure there is anything our government can do anything about it as it is the law for them. The funny thing is that they pick and choose which of the "laws" to obey as it fits their needs and how powerful they are. Interesting. Also very interesting to me is that under this new democracy woman are still property of their families. They actually have no freedom. Hmm...

I do and will recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a thought provoking book that has a very good storyline to go with it.

Happy Reading

J.M. Windle

Dear Readers,

I know I usually try to review only really new or coming books. Well this time it isn't such a new book. It is one that came out in March of this year. Betrayed by J.M. Windle. I kept thinking I need to read this book and just never got there. It was a good one for this week.

Vicki Andrews goes to Guatemala to checkout a non-profit orphanage that her company would like to donate a grant to. While there she plans on visiting her sister Holly, who is working at a center that is trying to save the cloud forest of Guatemala. As it turns out Vicki only gets to see Holly once before she goes missing and then turns up dead in the very dump that most of the orphans come from.

When the local authorities list the death as just a mugging gone wrong, Vicki desides to play CSI and quickly finds out that she is not in the USA. She isn't alway sure who she can trust, even the police seem corrupt. No one seems real interested in finding out the truth, not even the American Embassy. It is all very frusttrating for Vicki and makes her even more determed to find out the answers.

I really liked the main character even if to me she seemed a bit less informed about foreign cultures than I thought someone who had been to several foreign fields for work would have been. Some of it seemed like common sense to me and I was a bit surprised by how much she fought against the way things are done. Now I am not saying that I wouldn't turn over every rock to find out who killed my own sister, but there are ways of going about it on the foreign soil that you don't do here.

I did like this book. It kept my interest all the way through it. I liked how Jeanette presented that you can be very concerned about the enviroment and people also. In fact they should go hand in hand, not two seperate things. They really do need each other to survive.
Anyone who likes mystery will enjoy that part of this story and those looking for an action adventure book will also like this one. It is a good mixture of both.

Happy Reading