Saving Hope - by Margaret Daley

When a teenager goes missing from the Beacon of Hope School, Texas Ranger Wyatt Sheridan and school director Kate Winslow are forced into a dangerous struggle against a human trafficking organization. But the battle brings dire consequences as Wyatt’s daughter is terrorized and Kate is kidnapped.     

Now it’s personal, and Wyatt finds both his faith and investigative skills challenged as he fights to discover the mastermind behind the ring before evil destroys everyone he loves.

This is my first book by Margaret Daley, I've seen her other books that she has published through the "Love Inspired" series, but none of those really caught my eye.  This book, however, screamed at me,
"Rick, you have to read this book, it's about the MEN of the Texas Rangers!"  Now, as you know, I'm doing these reviews from a "man's perspective" and that works out well, because I'm a man.  And what better kind of book for a man to review than a book about the tough Texas Rangers!


Texas Ranger Wyatt Sheridan has settled into a good life in Texas.  It's been 8 years since his wife was killed, so he shares the ranch with his mother and his teenage daughter, Maddie.  Wyatt has a decent relationship with Maddie, they both love to ride their horses, but lately a wall has started building between them.  His mother, on the other hand, is finished off with husband #3 and watching out for #4.  It seems there are times when she's more of a hand ful then Maddie.  Kate Winslow is the director of the Beacon of Hope School that assists teenage girls through court appointed intervention.  She comes from the Winslow family of old money, but only the kind that donates, not the kind that actually gets in the trenches and makes a difference.  This causes alot of friction between her and her mother as Kate wants to help these lost girls personally, not from a distance.  First a van is stolen at the school and a girl goes missing, then another is killed after she left the school with her suspected pimp.  Now, Kate's funding has been pulled from the Winslow Foundation.  Will she have to close the school and turn the girls out?  Can Wyatt help find the missing girl, is she even still alive? You know the rest, you'll have to read the book to find out :)

This was a tough sell for me.  I've grown up with blinders on and find it uncomfortable to think that we live in society that could and would treat children, treat other humans, as these sex traffickers do.  This story, though, paints a picture of what is happening daily around the world, and right here in the United States.  The author has a page on her website specifically devoted to why she decided to write about this subject, check it out: Why I Wrote Saving Hope.  The characters in this book, specifically the girls from Beacon of Hope all called out to me in desparation.  These are teens who want a different life, who are searching for the missing piece.  Margaret does a good job of displaying the faith of Kate, I truly wish she had done more to showcase it in dealing with the girls of Beacon of Hope.  Their "missing" piece is a relationship with Him and He is the only one that can fill that void.

So is this a "man's book"?  Most definitely yes.  There is plenty of suspense, intrique and danger through out this book.  The plot is very well defined and I'm sure that we can all see ourselves in the character of Wyatt.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Margaret Daley is an award winning, multi-published author in the romance genre. One of her romantic suspense books, Hearts on the Line, won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Contest. Recently she has won the Golden Quill Contest, FHL’s Inspirational Readers’ Choice Contest, Winter Rose Contest, Holt Medallion and the Barclay Gold Contest.

She wrote for various secular publishers before the Lord led her to the Christian romance market. She currently writes inspirational romance and romantic suspense books for the Steeple Hill Love Inspired lines, romantic suspense for Abingdon Press and historical romance for Summerside Press. She has sold seventy-five books to date.

Margaret is currently the President for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), an organization of over 2300 members. She was one of the founding members of the first ACFW local chapter, WIN in Oklahoma. She has taught numerous classes for online groups, ACFW and RWA chapters. She enjoys mentoring other authors.

Until she retired a few years ago, she was a teacher of students with special needs for twenty-seven years and volunteered with Special Olympics as a coach. She currently is on the Outreach committee at her church, working on several projects in her community as well as serving on her church’s vestry.

On a more personal note, she has been married for over forty years to Mike and has one son and four granddaughters. She treasures her time with her family and friends.


Thanks to Abingdon Press and Netgalley for providing this copy in exchange for my honest review of the book.