In place to cover a historical peace summit, J. B. Collins is ready to report the news. Instead, he finds himself becoming part of the news. Who can he depend on when his freedom and life are put in danger? Joel C. Rosenberg writes how faith and trust come about when self reliance won’t work in The First Hostage.

Collins is in the middle of an unprecedented conference to bring about peace. However, things quickly go from good to bad to terrible. He finds himself at the center of an investigation of terrorism at the conference, a charge made worse by the fact he tried to warn people. When the president is kidnapped, other officials killed, and a battle breaks out, he has to face whether he has been wrong about faith.

Rosenberg’s The First Hostage is truly a great book. It held my attention and I was eager to see what would happen in the next chapter. There was never a dull moment or even a lull in the action.

It holds more than that, though. It shows teamwork, putting others first, courage, and faith. Though Collins doesn’t fully turn to God, the foundation is laid. His brother and family display great faith and pray constantly for him.

Since this is about fighting terrorism, there is quite a bit of graphic imagery in the story. It isn’t too intense, but you need to keep that in mind if you’re sensitive to violence.

I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for this review.