Book Review: Sworn to Protect by DiAnn Mills

Sworn to Protect by DiAnn Mills (Call of Duty #2)

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

Publish Date: April 1, 2010

Paperback, 400 pages

My Review:
It feels so good to be getting back to reading.  March was a slow month and I'm having to play catch up now, but books like Sworn to Protect, make it all worth while.  After a lot of young adult novels, it feels good to read a grown-up book again.  And one of my favorite genres, suspense makes it even better.

DiAnn Mills really scored a home run (hey it's baseball season now) with Sworn to Protect.  It has a strong female protagonist, a blurred social/humanitarian issue and a male to counteract and balance the female lead.  As for issues, it doesn't get much more blurred than immigration.  I love how this book shows both sides - the reason there are laws (drug dealers and other assorted problems) and the humanitarian side - Mexicans just wanting a new life and wanting to escape their own suffocating country.  Both are portrayed well and I found myself seeing both sides through the book.

But it's not just about immigration.  There is mystery too.  Danika's husband was killed two years ago and his murder is still unsolved.  There may be a rogue agent among the border patrol and something is going on with Danika's brother-in-law Jacob.  Add to that the romance that is developing between Danika and adorable Doctor Alex and this book had me turning page after page and not wanting to put it down.

I enjoyed the main story along with the sub-plots that were going on in the book.  The plots and sub-plots were well-crafted and fit together well to show Danika's life as a whole, not just her work life, but her personal life and her family life too.  I reveled in watching the various sub-plots and characters weave together through the book from the point where they had very little in common to the point where they meet up.

The book is real and though it is a Christian book, it doesn't pull any punches, there is no sanitizing of things, Christian fiction in this case just means the reading is clean and that is refreshing.

One of my favorite lines in the book has Danika's daughter, Tiana, who is hearing impaired signing to her mother as they walk into a church to ask what is wrong.  Danika replies with:

"I feel sad, and I need God to help me feel better."
"I'm sorry, Mommy.  When I ask Jesus for a daddy, I'll ask Him to make you happy."

Such innocence and belief - why can't we all have that?  (and it's humorous to the reader who knows there is a love interest who will eventually be in the picture).

I also liked that each of the chapters started with a quote or Bible verse.  My favorite one is:

"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried."  G.K. Chesterton

How true is that?

If you love mystery and suspense with some romance, the Sworn to Protect is a excellent book.

My Rating:  4.5/5.0

About the Book:
Border Patrol Agent Danika Morales has sworn to protect the southern borders of our nation, but that oath has cost her. Two years ago, her husband, Toby, was killed trying to help the very immigrants Danika was responsible for sending back to Mexico. His murder was never solved. But now, a recent string of attacks and arrests leads her to believe that someone in McAllen is profiting from sneaking undocumented immigrants into the country . . . and it may somehow be tied to Toby’s death.

About the Author (from Goodreads.com):
Award-winning author, DiAnn Mills, launched her career in 1998 with the publication of her first book. Currently she has over forty books in print and has sold more than a million copies.

DiAnn believes her readers should "Expect an Adventure." Her desire is to show characters solving real problems of today from a Christian perspective through a compelling story.

Six of her anthologies have appeared on the CBA Best Seller List. Three of her books have won the distinction of Best Historical of the Year by Heartsong Presents. Five of her books have won placements through American Christian Fiction Writer's Book of the Year Awards 2003 - 2006. She is the recipient of the Inspirational Reader's Choice award for 2005 in the long
contemporary and novella categories.

DiAnn is a founding board member for American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Chi Libris, Inspirational Writers Alive, Romance Writers of America's Faith, Hope and Love, and Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. DiAnn is also a mentor for Jerry B. Jenkin's Christian Writer's Guild.

She lives in sunny Houston, Texas, the home of heat, humidity, and Harleys. In fact she'd own a Harley, but her legs are too short. DiAnn and her husband have four adult sons and are active members of Metropolitan Baptist
Church.

FTC Information: I received this book through FIRST Wild Card Tours from Tyndale House Publishers for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.