BRING THE LIGHT

In this novel, a Texas nun becomes involved in the plights of two victims of Mexico’s kidnapping epidemic.

East Austin’s Sister Bridget Ann Rincón-Keller is shocked to discover a newborn infant on the grounds of her parish and then the blood-soaked Isabel Ortiz, the baby’s 15-year-old mother, who disappeared from her home in Mexico the year before. Isabel’s harrowing journey included being abducted by the monstrous serial kidnapper and drug trafficker El Gigante, being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and escaping from the agency’s custody. The cards continue to be stacked against her when she is separated from her baby by a most determined foster parent. When Isabel steals her baby in a frantic, albeit ill-advised, bid to flee toward the border, Sister Bridget does what she can to protect her. But Isabel is safer than her friend JuanaSan Miguel, another El Gigante kidnap victim, who is still in his custody. Sister Bridget is determined to rescue Juana and heads down to Mexico, where she is joined by Austin police Det. Estevez of the Human Trafficking Unit. The two develop a bond that will test Sister Bridget’s vows. “Being with you or not being with you are two good choices,” she tells him. “I believe that either way is fine with God…as long as my faith and trust in God is not shaken.” This is Kolda’s second multicultural thriller to feature Sister Bridget, who is known as “a bit of a crime solver.” This outing is more character study than mystery (El Gigante is outed as the perpetrator early on), and it fleshes out Sister Bridget as a woman of unshakeable compassion and faith as well as resourcefulness and sharp-eyed cunning (she makes a keen observation about the foster mother’s home that the police miss). Sister Bridget disappears for a lengthy section when an older couple take Isabel under their wing, but they are engaging characters in their own rights, and the teen’s flight generates page-turning tension. There are only mild profanities, but some may find the descriptions of El Gigante’s crimes and scenes of violence disturbing.

An engaging thriller for crime and mystery fans looking for an unconventional sleuth.