A Distant Shore by Karen Kingsbury

 This book is being published by Atria Books and will be published on April 27, 2021

5 Stars

The topic of human trafficking is an extremely difficult topic to read about.  The author does a fantastic job of not going in to gruesome details about the horror of this practice but weaves grace in to the story.

Eliza was raised as a Mennonite in Belize but then her father went away when she was around the age of 8.  He requested for her and her mother and brother, Daniel to come to him.  Later, Eliza is told that her mother and brother drowned in the ocean.  At the age of 10, she is swimming in the ocean and is so despondent by the life at the Palace that her father has created, that she gives up when the riptide pulls her down.

Jack is a teenager when he is on vacation with his family in Belize.  He and his brother, Shane, are playing football and having a great time when they hear screams from the ocean.  Jack and Shane run to investigate.  This is the pivotal moment in the story as Jack jumps in to save Eliza and both of their lives are changed.

Fast forward 10 years.  Eliza is approaching her 20th birthday.  Her father has been saving her for an arranged marriage.  The rest of the girls at the Palace are sent away at the age of 20.  Jack has become an special agent with the San Antonio FBI seeking out drug and sex trafficking.  

The story evolves from here as Jack and Eliza work together to stop sex trafficking.  

Both of the characters have changed so much since they were on the shore of Belize when they were young people, can God heal all of the hurts that have taken place?

Thanks so much to netgalley and Atria Books for the arc.  The opinions are my own.