Kristen Shepherd believes she has it all. A successful political campaign expert and engaged to be married to her handsome, charming co-worker Michael Forbes, her future seems bright. But when she gets a call on her cell phone just moments before the wedding ceremony, informing her that Michael has tried to move all her money to an account in Saudi Arabia, her dreams come crashing down around her. She confronts Michael, only to have him tell her that he’ll explain everything, once they’re married. She can’t handle the idea of marrying someone who would abuse her trust in this way, and she runs away from the wedding, still in her gown.
Her destination: her family’s vacation cabin. But she doesn’t make it all the way there—her engine stalls and she has to go the last part of the distance on foot. When neighbor Ryan Jameson finds her soaked by rain, spattered by mud, and completely furious, he takes her to his cabin and lets her get cleaned up.
Meanwhile, Kristen’s brother is having an adventure of his own. Brandon Shepherd is a doctor serving his country in Iraq. When news comes that some downed soldiers need to be rescued by helicopter, he and his co-worker, Dr. Rachel Fields, head out to help the injured men. But they’re ambushed by terrorists and are taken captive, held at gunpoint and their lives are in danger unless they can save the life of their leader. Rachel doesn’t want to do anything to help these terrorists, but Brandon, a new Latter-day Saint, can’t stand the thought of a man’s death being on his conscience.
When Kristen hears of Brandon’s abduction, she’s on the first flight she can get to Iraq. Ryan comes with her, and so does her father, a general in the Army whose relationship with Kristen has been strained for years. As they work to locate Brandon, Ryan and Kristen realize that feelings they developed years before are now ready to be expressed, and family bonds are strengthened.
I enjoyed “All’s Fair” by Julie Coulter Bellon and appreciated the look into the situation faced by our servicemen and women fighting over in Iraq right now and the challenges they face on a daily basis. While this book is written for the LDS market, the book is never preachy and it can easily be read and enjoyed by persons of any religious denomination.
(This book was published in 2008 by Covenant.)
Related Blogs:
Author Interview — Julie Coulter Bellon
Author Interview — Julie Coulter Bellon, part two
Author Interview — Anne Bradshaw