Unknown Enemy
by Karl Goodman
Covenant Communications
343 pages

I was excited to read Unknown Enemy because I enjoy international intrigue and the back of the book promised a wonderful adventure. I also thought the cover was quite eye-catching.

The story begins with the introduction of Dama Mariposa, a woman who is part of a renegade guerilla army fighting against the communist government. That in itself was unusual and I was glad to see a strong female heroine. The beginning completely pulls the reader in, and sets the stage for the rest of the book.

While the heroine has a dynamic introduction, our hero, John Tanner didn’t resonate with me at first. I think it’s because we are introduced to John, a BYU graduate and CIA agent, and even though he’s undercover, John readily admits to someone he just met that he is a CIA agent. This wasn’t realistic to me, but it does further the story and the romance. Other than that, John is a character we can identify with and understand.

The book has a fresh and unique plot, that really explores a moral dilemma that many Church members outside the U.S. may face. It is set against the backdrop of Nicaragua, a country torn apart by politics and differing world views. The author did an exceptional job with the flavor of another country and language, but sometimes the story got bogged down in description and it seemed to drag in the middle with character and plot devices that slowed the pace somewhat. I have to say though, that the action sequences in the book were very well done and kept the tension high. The prison scene alone ruined my manicure because I was biting my nails just to see what was going to happen.

The author writes his male characters very well, but struggled somewhat with female characters and making them feminine yet strong. Even the heroine ultimately didn’t have a consistency about her behavior that made it difficult to understand her motives and actions at times. The family relationships were realistic and well done, but the romance could have been stronger. Paring down the secondary characters would also have been better in my opinion, but overall, it was an enjoyable book. I would definitely recommend this book to action/adventure fans, both male and female.