My friend’s father is a writer and recently finished another book. I asked to read it, but I have to admit I was a little skeptical. There are so many “authors” these days! However, I enjoyed this book and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing. Charles Clark has certainly done his homework on immigration and he not only takes the reader across the border, but behind the scenes in a gripping tale of illegal trade and human suffering. He tells a fast-paced story with real characters and believable problems.
I worked side-by-side with migrant farm workers, legal and otherwise, in the grape vineyards of California, so this was of particular interest to me. I’m not sure what we should do about the problem of illegal immigrants, but I know they are all people, just like us, trying to do the best they can to make a living for their families.
Here is a brief summary of the book:
The Immigrant
By Charles Clark
For years Rafael Narvaez worked and saved with one goal in mind- a better life for his wife, Rosa, and their two young children, Esmeralda and Ignacio. He knew he could go to America alone and send money back to his family in Mexico, as many of his friends had done, but he was determined to keep his family together, even if he had to pay an exorbitant fee to a coyote and enter the United States illegally. He knew the crossing would be fraught with dangers- heat stroke, snakes, starvation, or capture by the Federales. But his dream of better wages for himself and education for his children made the risks seem worth taking. However, no one could foresee that Esmeralda would be kidnapped or that a fiery freeway crash, resulting in both parents' deaths, would leave young Ignacio grief-stricken and alone in America.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service attorney Megan Andrade takes a special interest in the child, and she and her friend Jeffrey Harrison manage to get temporary custody of the boy. But all Ignacio wants is to return to his village in Mexico, where his sister Esmeralda is being held hostage. Ignacio believes the key to her return is a package he found at the accident site. Unfortunately, a major drug cartel in northern Mexico wants the package back-and they'll do anything to get it.
Megan and Jeffrey know they cannot let the contents of the package fall into the cartel's hands. But even more importantly, they must reunite brother and sister and bring healing to a broken family. From Texas to Mexico, the three make a journey fraught with danger, deadly secrets, and devastating betrayal. Along the way Megan must confront her past and contemplate what the future holds for her own family and this orphan boy. It is a journey that will threaten everything Megan holds dear-even her life.
To read more about Dr. Clark and his work go to Charles Clark Novels.
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