Toward the Light

Spring’s gripping debut takes Luz Concepcion, who has been groomed since childhood for a clandestine mission, from the U.S. back to her homeland of Guatemala to kill Martin Benavides, who murdered her father 17 years earlier. Benavides, who was once the country’s president, has ties to a massive drug cartel. The carefully constructed plan Luz’s charismatic CIA handler, Richard, persuades her to follow initially goes off without a hitch as she succeeds in getting employed as the nanny to Martin’s grandson. Then things begin to go horribly wrong. Everyone Luz meets has a different interpretation of the truth, creating a world of ever-shifting allegiances. The well-paced action and complicated plot lead to a fiery showdown, which prompts Luz to muse: “Heroes and villains? They were just men, some of whom had chosen badly. The heroes tried to atone for their mistakes. The villains tried to make others pay.” Spring’s thriller-writing career is off to a strong start. Agent: Lisa Aballera, Kimberley Cameron & Assoc. (Jan.)