The Martyr's Brother (Paperback or Softback)

No one is who they seem.

The twins, Guadalupe and Ximena, wanted nothing more than to make a better life for themselves. Like so many others who had dreamed the same dream, together they left their home in central Mexico and headed for America. Little did they know, among their group crossing the vast Sonoran desert and making its way to Atlanta, was a young man who claimed his name was Javier but who was anyone and anything but what he pretended to be.

As they experience the difficulties and dangers of the crossing and their attempts to blend into their new surroundings, the young women's lives become inextricably tangled with Javier's. Can they trust him, or the authorities pursuing him, or must they rely on their own wits to survive?

"...a story from today's headlines. And when you're done, you won't look at the people around you or the places you go quite the same way again."

-- Carole Townsend, author of Blood in the Soil

"The Martyr's Brother paints people who brush up against terrorism,using great flawed, 3-D characters to represent all sides. An intriguingcontemporary tale of our times depicting how these factions at war have facesand absolutely none of them is sure of what they are doing."
-- C. Hope Clark, author of The Edisto Island Mysteries and The Carolina SladeMysteries 

"With The Martyr's Brother, Rona Simmonshas made her mark on the thriller genre, ripping a story from today's headlinesand dropping it right down in our own backyards. From the ominous opening to the very end, she dares you to look away orto put the book down. And when you're done, you won't look at the people aroundyou or the places you go quite the same way again."
-- Carole Townsend, author of Blood in the Soil

The Martyr's Brother is more than a well-written book; it is a fastand engrossing story that carries us into a world of deception and terrorismthat we all fear.  Rona Simmons' portrayal of the desperate, thealienated, and the ruthless rings true on every page.  Her lean prose andtaut pacing draw the reader deeper with every page into a world we know existsbut hope never to encounter.
-- David Darracott, 2015 Georgia Author of the Yearfor Wasted

Rona Simmons' The Martyr's Brother presents a thrilling, bone-chilling, realistic scenario of terrorism and the devastation it creates. Simmons writes from the perspective of four characters, all working toward different outcomes, equally captivating, and paints a vivid picture of the unification they discover despite their different backgrounds. From the first page, Simmons pulls the audience into a world of deception, manipulation, and violence within terrorism, and she portrays firsthand how devastating an impact this type of violent hatred carries. There is a rawness, an unshakeable honesty that is prevalent as Simmons depicts terrorism. 
-- Killer Nashville Book of the Day - Review by Kate Proffitt