St. Abient Run - Kendrick, Jeana

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Résumé :
Journalist Susan Pardue investigates a Christian Center in France, alleged to be a front for an international smuggling ring. Her boss Mark Ashley has a personal stake in the investigation. His cousin Benjamin attends the Center and is rumored to be involved with drugs. Pastor John Volar, head of the Center, is under surveillance by Interpol. Susan and Mark uncover evidence linking three of Volar's backers to the Center's laundered accounts. Benjamin disappears, and Mark is devastated. Both he and Susan have already lost a sibling to drugs; both hold themselves partially responsible. He sneers when she encourages him to have faith. Susan insists she is finished with blaming God and herself. She tells Mark that their siblings made their own choices. She and Mark can't change what's happened, but they can try to save Benjamin and report the truth about the Center. Framed for cocaine possession, Susan and Mark are released when authorities determine the white powder is not cocaine. In Bulgaria, Susan finds a dead body in her hotel bathtub with a note warning she may be next. The following day, she narrowly escapes a bomb planted on her train in Budapest. Somebody who has strong connections with Pastor Volar and the Christian Center wants her gone. South African entrepreneurs Peter Frazier and Ewald Lauter are under investigation for stock market manipulation and diamond smuggling. From his protected world of high-finance, Lauter manipulates drug lords, militant terrorists and elections around the globe. One of Lauter's men attacks Benjamin, leaving him in critical condition. An anguished Mark, on his knees praying for Benjamin's survival, relinquishes the guilt that has embittered him. Susan returns to the Center, aware of changes in Mark that touch her deeply. When she returns Mark haltingly shares his testimony, discovering that Susan's faith has grown as well. He leaves to track down Lauter and in the process learns how important Susan has become to him. Lauter's Machiavellian schemes begin to crumble when he orders one of his minion's planes bombed. His frightened partner Frazier gives evidence against him. The authorities uncover a plastics factory doubling as Lauter's drug lab. Mark joins the authorities in Munich, where they set a trap to catch Lauter. They find Susan and Benjamin locked in an upstairs factory chamber. While surrounded, Lauter escapes and sets fire to the drug labs. Susan and Mark catch Lauter in the act and the two barely escape as the building detonates into an angry inferno. Benjamin and the authorities are already outside. Afterward, Volar is cleared. The Center's reputation remains unsullied. Lauter is believed to have died in the explosion. His partner Frazier is among those indicted. Mark and Susan have fallen in love. No trace of Lauter or the stolen jewels are ever discovered.

Biographie:
Jeana Kendrick's novels and books are available most everywhere books are sold. Her Conspiracy Series suspense novels, The Paris Conspiracy and St. Abient Run, will keep the reader guessing until the end. Jeana's book Memoirs of a Bible Smuggler tells the true story of how she and her husband helped smuggle thousands of Bibles behind the Iron Curtain. Her latest novel, The Last Bridge Across Mostar, takes place during the Bosnian War. Her short stories are in Fall From Innocence, Page One Publications, and Suddenly, Suddenly II and Suddenly IV, Martin House. Jeana's feature articles have appeared in various magazines and newspapers. As an editor and writer with Door of Hope International (DOHI), her projects include the 2005 and 2020 revised versions of the bestseller Tortured For His Faith and the 2020 revised edition of The Fugitive. From 1995-2005, she served as DOHI's communications director and managing editor overseeing the quality and on-time production of its USA and Canadian publishing. From 1980-1992, Jeana and her husband co-directed DOHI's literature distribution into Eastern Europe, traveling extensively throughout the continent. Those trips left a lasting impression on both their lives.She enjoys family, reading, walking, gardening and baking. Jeana and her husband currently live in the piney woods of East Texas.