Ted Dekker Saint

Saint

Ted Dekker

WestBow, Sept 2006, $28.95, 406 pp.

ISBN 1595540067

They kidnapped him, tortured him, broke him and remade him into the perfect assassin. They are the X group, headed by Lazlo Kalman, a highly organized group of mercenaries who will kill high-profile people for an astronomical fee. Carl Strople is one of their biggest successes, a childlike man who accepts what is done to him as a method of improving his skills. He and Kelly, who is also a mercenary, happen to love one another; they go to New York to kill the Iran defense minister Assim Feroz who is backing a treaty to have all Middle Eastern nations forcibly disarm.

Only the president of the United States opposes the treaty and his spiritual advisor David Abraham agrees believing Assim is evil and his plan will mean the destruction of Israel as seen in a vision by his son Samuel. When Carl and Kelly arrive in New York City, they are told their target is the President but the assassin can't kill him. David tells Carl to go to Paradise, Colorado to learn the truth about whom and what he is. Coming for Carl is the X group assassin Englishman who is not what he seems with powers even his masters are not unaware of. The battle between Carl and Englishman is the classic battle between Good and Evil.

Ted Dekker is a brilliant thriller writer and his latest work SAINT is a sure shot to reach the best seller lists. The classic confrontation between good and evil is believable because readers can follow the events on both a mundane and spiritual level. The hero had horrible things done to his mind and body yet he still has the capacity to love and has a child-like charisma that makes readers weep for his suffering.

Harriet Klausner