Saffire: A Novel by Sigmund Brouwer

Title: Saffire
Author: Sigmund Brouwer
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: Cattle farmer and ex-rodeo rider, John Holt travels to Panama where a new canal is being constructed. He is sent there by Teddy Roosevelt to help the Americans figure out who might be sabotaging the construction of the canal. Holt meets a young girl named Saffire whose mother has gone missing and decides to help her. This becomes a dangerous task and John Holt must choose between solving the mystery or heading home to his young daughter back in the United States.

My Thoughts

The synopsis on the back cover was a little misleading. When I first picked up this book I thought I was going to be reading a novel where Teddy Roosevelt played a strong role, this is far from true. Once I figured out that James Holt was the protagonist I was a little disappointed, but still interested to see what the novel had in store.
Saffire has a really enjoyable storyline, but just doesn't quite have the "grab your attention" quality I'm looking for in a book. The story takes place over four days, but it feels much longer. There are aspects of mystery and a love story, but neither of them are particularly fleshed out. 
I understand that the author is going for a love at first sight kind of feel, but it just doesn't really come across as romantic or as though it is deeper than just an initial attraction until the very end of the book.
 As far as the mystery portion goes, there is not enough information provided to really make the reader wonder who might be behind the sabotage. In attempting to create mystery the author really just left too many questions so the reader didn't understand what was happening in the story.
Overall, this on is not one I will be recommending to friends

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To see more from Sigmund Brouwer, visit the website linked above.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.