Ben Brice is a central character in this book by Mark Gimenez called “The Abduction”. He is a decorated hero from the Vietnam war but he lives alone and drinks a lot to forget things about the war. He cannot understand why certain events have happened in his life. He remembers his mother telling him God had a plan for his life but fails to see it. The only time he does not drink is when his grand daughter comes to visit with him.
One night after drinking he has another one of his recurring nightmares but there is a twist in the end of it. Instead of seeing the face of the Vietnamese girl begging for help in his past, he sees the face of his grand daughter. This seems to coincide with the abduction of his grand daughter – an abduction for which there is no apparent reason. Is this a kidnap for reward? Her father is on the verge of becoming a billionaire - but no ransom demand is made. Is this prompted by a child molester? “Evidence” seems to point to this and a convicted sex offender is taken into custody. But he professes innocence and kills himself while in jail – and Gracie is still missing. Ben sees this as a mission - to find and get her back – he has visions and still feels connections with her.
A photo of the kidnapper from behind revealed a tattoo that places a connection with Ben’s past in Vietnam. Is this kidnapping an act of revenge against him as he suspects? Or is this a coincidence? Ben does not know but follows the trail. He knows the people he is dealing with and knows it will be a difficult (but not impossible) situation to get his grand daughter back. He and his son (who has not had anything to do with him) go after Gracie.
Nothing is simple about this story / plot. There are so many twists revealed throughout the book that shed more light on what seems like unrelated events. They also reveal some surprises – like a planned assassination of the President of the United States.
I find it hard to really summarize this story – without revealing too much. At first I thought there were too many coincidences to be believable but found the theme was consistent. As Ben learns through this experience (and as his mother had told him), " God has a plan for him and this was how he discovered everything was connected. It was in my opinion a very good book. This is the second book I have read by Mark Gimenez and it was different from the first. I am impressed by his writing skills and plan to read the next book by him.
One night after drinking he has another one of his recurring nightmares but there is a twist in the end of it. Instead of seeing the face of the Vietnamese girl begging for help in his past, he sees the face of his grand daughter. This seems to coincide with the abduction of his grand daughter – an abduction for which there is no apparent reason. Is this a kidnap for reward? Her father is on the verge of becoming a billionaire - but no ransom demand is made. Is this prompted by a child molester? “Evidence” seems to point to this and a convicted sex offender is taken into custody. But he professes innocence and kills himself while in jail – and Gracie is still missing. Ben sees this as a mission - to find and get her back – he has visions and still feels connections with her.
A photo of the kidnapper from behind revealed a tattoo that places a connection with Ben’s past in Vietnam. Is this kidnapping an act of revenge against him as he suspects? Or is this a coincidence? Ben does not know but follows the trail. He knows the people he is dealing with and knows it will be a difficult (but not impossible) situation to get his grand daughter back. He and his son (who has not had anything to do with him) go after Gracie.
Nothing is simple about this story / plot. There are so many twists revealed throughout the book that shed more light on what seems like unrelated events. They also reveal some surprises – like a planned assassination of the President of the United States.
I find it hard to really summarize this story – without revealing too much. At first I thought there were too many coincidences to be believable but found the theme was consistent. As Ben learns through this experience (and as his mother had told him), " God has a plan for him and this was how he discovered everything was connected. It was in my opinion a very good book. This is the second book I have read by Mark Gimenez and it was different from the first. I am impressed by his writing skills and plan to read the next book by him.
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