Saffire

James Holt didn’t know why he had been summoned from his Dakota Territory ranch to the Panama Canal Zone in 1909 and I didn’t either.  Not for the longest time.  I ended up really enjoying the book although it felt like I was in the dark for way too long.  My favorite relationship of the book was that between Holt and T.B. Miskimon who was assigned to work with Holt while he was in Panama.  The banter they exchanged was a lot of fun once I caught on to their personalities.  The historical background of the Panama Canal building era was fascinating and Brouwer’s writing makes you feel the heat, humidity, dust and danger of the area.  Holt’s personal story unfolds very gradually throughout the book as we eventually are clued in to the origin of his crooked nose, his beloved daughter, and even the scar on his chest from a Sioux warrior.  My advice is to stick with this book– your questions will be answered as you go, although the final piece of the puzzle seems almost anti-climactic within the entire web of intrigue built up throughout the story.  (I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review).