Toward the Light

Nothing is as it seems—and no one is telling the truth

Luz Concepcion returns to Guatemala to murder Martin Benavides, the man who destroyed her family. Benavides, who rose from insurgent fighter to president, controls a major drug network. Richard Clement became Luz’s resettlement officer when she was evacuated to the U.S. He now works for the CIA, which has its own reasons for eliminating Benavides. Richard’s team persuades Luz to pursue a job as nanny to Benavides’ grandson, Cesar, a lonely child with an absentee playboy father.

The Guatemala contact for her mission is Evan McManus, an expat painter who pursues Luz, hoping to persuade her to model for him—and more. Luz initially spurns his advances, but her first terrifying encounter with Martin Benavides propels her into his arms.

Complicating matters, Luz conceals from all sides her clandestine contact with her surviving cousin, Antonio Torres, a guerrilla leader fighting the government propped up by the Benavides and their drug money.

Her plans unravel as, bit by bit, Luz learns that nothing is as it seems—and no one is telling the whole truth.

Perfect for readers who appreciate a novel female protagonist, an "everywoman" confronted with an overwhelming moral dilemma and crushing physical danger

Bonnar Spring writes eclectic and stylish mystery-suspense novels with an international flavor. An inveterate traveler, she hitchhiked across Europe at sixteen and joined the Peace Corps after college. Bonnar has taught ESL—English as a Second Language—at a community college and divides her time between tiny houses on a New Hampshire salt marsh and by the Sea of Abaco. Toward the Light is her debut novel.