Review of Saffire by Sigmund Brouwer

This blog post is a review of the book Saffire by Sigmund Brouwer.

Back cover synopsis: 

I reminded myself that once you start to defend someone, it's difficult to find a place to stop. But I went ahead and took that first step anyway...

For President Teddy Roosevelt, controlling the east-west passage between two oceans mattered so much that he orchestrated a revolution to control it. His command was to "let the dirt fly" and for years, the American Zone of the Panama Canal mesmerized the world, working in uneasy co-existence with the Panamanian aristocrats.
     It's in this buffered Zone where, in 1909, James Holt begins to protect a mulatto girl named Saffire, expecting a short and simple search for her mother. Instead it draws him away from safety, into a land haunted by a history of pirates, gold runners, and plantation owners, all leaving behind ghosts of their interwoven desires, sins, and ambitions, ghosts that create the web of deceit and intrigue of a new generation of revolutionary politics. It will also bring him together with a woman who will change his course   or bring an end to it.
     A love story set within a historical mystery, Saffire brings to life the most impressive   and embattled    engineering achievement of the twentieth century.

About the Author:
 The best-selling author of the multi-award-winning World War II novel Thief of Glory, SIGMUND BROUWER has written nineteen novels and has more than three million books in print. Through his Rock and Roll Literacy Show, he leads writing workshops to eighty-thousand students a year in schools from the Arctic Circle to inner-city Los Angeles. Sigmund is married to recording artist Cindy Morgan and has two daughters.

My thoughts:
    I really enjoyed this book. It is wonderfully descriptive I could almost see the sights, smell the smells, and taste the food just through the authors words. His attention to detail set the scene and made the story come to life right in front of me. Mr. Brouwer is a phenomenal writer. The story is set in Panama during the building of the Canal. If you enjoy learning about history in a story setting this book is a good choice. I have always been a bit of a history buff so I definitely enjoyed it. Saffire has a bit of everything history, mystery, romance, suspense, and intrigue all combined to make a wonderful read. I look forward to reading more of this author's work in the future.
    I received this book from blogging for books in exchange for my honest review.