Publication Date: March 5, 2024
A terrorist attack—a kidnapping—the ultimate vacation gone wrong
Sisters Samantha and Monte Waters are vacationing together in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, enjoying a festival and planning to meet with their brother, Cal—but the idyllic plans are short-lived. When terrorists’ attacks rock the city around them, Monte, a U.S. foreign service officer, and Samantha, an international television correspondent, are separated, and one of them is whisked away in the frenzy.
The family mobilizes, using all their contacts to try to find their missing sister, but to no avail. She has vanished. As time presses on, the outlook darkens. Can she be found, or is she a lost cause? And, even if she returns, will the damage to her and those around her be irreparable?
Moving from Spain to Washington to Morocco to Gibraltar to the Sahara Desert, The Far Side of the Desert is a family drama and political thriller that explores links of terrorism, crime, and financial manipulation, revealing the grace that ultimately foils destruction.
A simple vacation in Spain for siblings turns into a nightmare when one is kidnapped by terrorists.
Author Joanne Leedom-Ackerman delivers a tightly wound thriller packed with suspense in The Far Side of the Desert. Anne Montgomery Waters, known as Monte, not only is a diplomat, but she comes from a powerfully connected family.
That connection, along with her sister’s role as an international correspondent, makes the storyline take an interesting twist. However, it doesn’t make them immune from suffering as the search drags on.
The story alternates between Monte’s captivity and the search. However, her escape doesn’t signify the end. What ensues is a powerful example of love between sisters and the fight to gather up the pieces so Monte can recover.
At times unsettling, The Far Side of the Desert delivers a fast-paced psychological thriller.
Joanne Leedom-Ackerman is a novelist, short story writer, and journalist whose works of fiction include Burning Distance, The Dark Path to the River, and No Marble Angels. Her recent nonfiction book, PEN Journeys: Memoir of Literature on the Line, drew inspiration from her job as a vice president of the worldwide writers and human rights organization PEN International. She is also on the boards of the American Writers Museum, the International Center for Journalists, Words Without Borders, and Refugees International. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Texas Institute of Letters. The Far Side of the Desert is her latest novel.
Thank you for the enthusiastic review of my novel The Far Side of the Desert! Readers keep books alive and strong reviews are oxygen to writers and attract readers. Much appreciated!