Border Son

Author: Samuel Parker
Genre: Mystery/Suspense

"This is a story that will stay with the reader long after the last page."--Lynette Eason, bestselling author of the Blue Justice series

It's been years since Edward Kazmierski has seen his wayward son, or even allowed thoughts of him to enter his mind. The last place he knew Tyler to be was in an El Paso jail six years ago. Then, in one day, he receives a cryptic phone call from a woman that his son needs him, another from a federal agent searching for Tyler, and a terrifying visit from the Mexican cartel. The chain of events set into motion by one impulsive act will almost certainly lead to death--for Tyler and for those who try to help him. But before Ed can recover his son, he will have to tear down the wall that has been built up between them. 

The dangerous streets of a Mexican border town come into sharp focus in a suspenseful retelling of the Prodigal Son story like you have never heard before.

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Reviewer: John Sheehan

Intriguing, exciting and Captivating is Border Son as you journey down this dark path of a hidden world of death and danger of a man lost in this underworld of drugs and money making his way out of this dangerous world will not be easy but with the love of a Father so reminiscent of what Jesus spoke of in Luke 15:11-32.

The twist and turns from beginning to end keeps the reader involved as if you are right beside this cast of characters. With spell bounding intrigue jumping from one danger to the next as lives become interwoven setting free the prodigal border son with a love so grand at any cost teaching the value of 1st John 3:16.

Well done Samuel Parker, well done!

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing. ​

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Reviewer: Eva Joy Schonhaar

I requested Border Son for review because it was marketed as a retelling of the Prodigal Son story from the Bible.  However, except for themes of estrangement between two different sons and their parents, there was very little resemblance to the original story.  This didn't much ruin my enjoyment of Border Son, but it's something I felt I should mention.

WHAT I LIKED:

• Felipe was my favorite character.  He was an island of calm in the middle of drug wars and betrayals.
• Learning more about Mexican culture through various characters was incredibly interesting. I always love discovering new things about different countries through fiction and Border Son certainly delivered.
• The plot moved quickly (not rushed, though) and it definitely held my interest.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

• Besides Felipe, I didn't really connect with the characters.
• Sometimes the writing was a bit clunky.
• The beginning confused me because I had no real idea of what was going on and several characters were introduced really quickly.  But I did orient myself pretty quickly after that.
• This was supposed to be a Christian book (I think) but it was basically a cleaned up secular book in my opinion.

Overall, I'd recommend Border Son to people who enjoy clean thrillers with human connections.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing. ​

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Reviewer: Gee Dixon

This is my first time reading a book by Samuel Parker. I was unsure if I was going to get interested in the story as it was real slow at the beginning. But about 10 chapters in, which are very short chapters, I did not want to put it down. I needed to know what happens next and then next and so on.

My favorite character was Edward Kazmierski, the father of Tyler. He was my hero in all this along with the character Roberto Ibanez, who grew on me.  Once this story picked up it was a page turner!

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing. ​

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