Which Half David by Mark W. Sasse

AMAZON UK
AMAZON US

A compelling story of a man who falls off his good-missionary pedestal. Correction: an utterly compelling story. Tobin Matthews and his wife, Jane, live in Sulu, an island (fictitious) in southeast Asia. Revered for his actions when he plays an instrumental part in closing down a dreadful band of human traffickers and for defending the rights of a group of Sulu tribesmen, he is the man of the island, a man who can do no wrong. But when his ex-lover, Kendra, turns up, this saint, this saviour, falls under her evil seductress ways. Far from turning the other cheek, Tobin’s actions rock his marriage, his beliefs and strength of character.

The story is a modern-day version of the biblical King David. A bit lost on me…I’m not religious, or a Christian and haven’t read the Bible. This didn’t matter, as it was still a page-turner as you accompany Tobin in his struggles to fight temptation in his will-he/won’t-he battle. Tobin, despite wobbling off his pedestal, and Kendra (bitch is too nice a word for her) are both very strong characters in their own way, but beautifully balanced by the soft, gentle, patient, perhaps even a little flaky, Jane and Kendra’s almost puppy-dog-like, ineffective, bumbling, slightly wimpish husband. But, pay very special attention to both of these…

And excellent story, written with Sasse’s usual flair, that's intense, passionate and peppered with some I-never-expected-that little surprises.


See also:
Beauty Rising
If Love is a Crime: A Christmas Story
Love Story for a Nation
The Reach of the Banyan Tree 
The Recluse Storyteller